


Rainfall Sunshine

by phoenixreal



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Betrayal, Blood and Gore, Brothels, Demisexuality, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Dubious Consent Due To Identity Issues, Gang Rape, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Nightmares, Non-Consensual Bondage, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Organized Crime, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rape, Rape Recovery, Self-Esteem Issues, Seme Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, Sexuality, Sleep Sex, Uke Kurosaki Ichigo, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-07 21:26:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 50,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1124553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixreal/pseuds/phoenixreal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young man with a bright medical career ends up on the wrong side of some very bad people in his effort to look after his friends. When his mind is shattered and fragmented, is it possible for a blue haired detective to solve the riddle of how to piece him back together?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Ending of the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Rewrite.

 

 

* * *

 

The music was loud but Ichigo Kurosaki didn’t mind it too much. He loved to come to the club, Tiberon, with his friends. He came for them, of course. Tonight, was a big celebration because Arisawa Tatsuki, his best friend in the world, had just been accepted into Harvard Law. The club they enjoyed visiting was called the Dangai. It was a really busy place on their slowest nights. He’d come out with the girls, which included Orihime Inoue, Chizuru Honshō, and Mizuho Asano.

Of course, Keigo Asano, Mizuho’s sister had come along, but honestly Ichigo didn’t pay him much attention. He was just there because he was cruising for a girlfriend again. Not to mention, lately he’d been giving off a weird vibe. Ichigo wondered what had happened between high school and college to put such distance between them, but it was like all of a sudden, the things that Keigo found annoying about Ichigo were the very things in high school he’d praised him for. Ichigo, two years into a medical program, was still bothered by this rift between him and his once closest friend. It was strange to have left Keigo behind and become better friends with his sister. It was indeed odd for him to come along, and even though they had all piled into Mizuho’s car, Keigo hadn’t once spoken to him. It didn’t matter, though, he wasn’t why he was at the Tiberon. He was here to hang out with the girls. He enjoyed their company.

Ichigo also went out with the girls because they were constantly bothered by guys in the club. Ichigo had no interest in girls, in fact, he wasn’t sure he was even interested in anyone. He just enjoyed the music, and he loved to dance with them. Despite being in school to become a doctor already, Ichigo’s passion had always been dancing. He’d been in all sorts of dance classes as a child, and continued with ballet until he was almost out of high school. He’d done gymnastics until he’d gotten too tall at about fifteen. Of course, he’d dealt with constant accusations of being gay or the like because he did dance. He eventually learned to ignore them. He didn’t care what others thought. It wasn’t like he minded it, after all, being gay wasn’t a bad thing in his mind, but he just wasn’t sure if he had any interest sexually or even romantically in others at all. People had a lot of trouble comprehending that he was twenty and just plain not interested. He thought maybe he was asexual, but he wasn’t sure yet.

He leaned back against the bar and watched. He smiled. He was proud of all the girls. Orihime had just started a program for fashion design, and Chizuru was going into culinary arts, practically an artist when it came to foods. Mizuho had entered business school last year as well, and was well on her way to being top of her class. They'd been friends since elementary school, the five of them and Keigo. Of course, now Keigo was a distant from Ichigo more often than not. Tonight was odd though because it seemed like he was actively avoiding him.

He sighed and sipped the club soda he was drinking and saw someone starting to move on Tatsuki. He headed off the sort of creepy looking guy with greasy black hair and one of those medical masks and pulled Tatsuki onto the floor. A few minutes later, another creeper was trying to chat Orihime up at the bar, this one with a weird floppy mohawk sort of hairstyle. Again, he took her away onto the floor and got a glare from the guy. He was sure he would have killed him with that look if he could. Ichigo thought his intervention would be done there, but there was a hulking guy trying to hit on Chizuru. Considering Chizuru was a strict lesbian, that was laughable, but one thing he’d learned, these types didn’t take that as a reason.

Ichigo didn’t understand it. A guy would back off if he stepped in and pretended to be with them, but they wouldn’t just take no for an answer. He hated that, and he wished it wasn’t like that. A guy should respect a girl’s no as much as they respected a girl having a boyfriend. He sighed as he leaned back against the bar again. The four girls were dancing together at the moment. The night wore on and he figured he’d walk with Orihime home. She didn’t live far, and the other girls were taking a taxi together.

They were walking past an alley when they heard a loud click. “Freeze.”

They both turned to see the man with the mask over his mouth pointing a gun at them. Ichigo sensed someone behind him and he realized that there were two other men there behind them. “What do you want? We don’t have any money,” Ichigo stammered out. “I only carry my idea and my card.”

“Nah, we just want her, no money,” the masked one said.

Ichigo’s eyes widened and Orihime screamed as one of the other two men grabbed her. He’d been in the club too; he was the one with the weird flopped mohawk haircut. The last guy, now that he saw him up close had also been there, the huge guy that had been hitting on Chizuru. The mohawk guy put his hand over Orihime’s mouth and Ichigo reacted before he thought. He kicked the guy holding her right in the side of the knee, making a sick cracking sound and he let go. Orihime gasped and started to run but the huge guy grabbed her by the hair, dragging her to the ground. Ichigo turned and tried to punch him but there was another sick crack, and this time he knew it was because he’d been hit in the head. The world tilted and he wondered if he was going to wake up to find Orihime gone.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

The world was moving into focus slowly, but only sounds. He couldn’t see and his head was pounding. He felt something, cloth by the taste, shoved into his mouth as a gag. “What the hell did you bring him for?” Ichigo heard. “Why didn’t you just shoot him? I mean, if he’s without someone looking for him, could sell him probably, he’s slender.”

“He’s a pain the ass, so though we’d show him a good time before we killed him. You’re always telling me not to fuck the girls because I’m too rough. Plus, didn’t the boss want to test that new batch of VR?” a voice he recognized as the one with the mask.

“True. Sure, just take him in the store room. Don’t want you scaring the girls with his screaming. Anytime you all do this, you make them scream so much it freaks the whores out.”

Ichigo heard steps moving away from him. “Good catch. Big tits. Tiny waist. How’d you come across her?”

Another familiar voice. “Oh, the boy, that one that got into Shaz for like two mil? Put a gun to his head and asked if his sister would make a good whore and he squawked like a pigeon about where we could find this hot bitch. No family, so she’s a good grab.” Ichigo was sure it was the huge guy. “She’ll sell for a ton.”

A long pause. “Alright, drag off your fuck toy. Clean up your mess. Last time you brought home a disposable plaything, I was cleaning blood from the ceiling. I’ll call out to Quilge to pick up the big titted bitch tonight.”

 Ichigo realized his eyes were covered and that was the main reason he couldn’t see. He heard a muffled noise he knew was Orihime’s voice. There was a loud smacking sound.

“Bitch, shut up. Whoever buys your sweet ass will be happy, so don’t worry about your gay boyfriend. He won’t be around much longer,” a different voice, female.

Ichigo heard Orihime sobbing and he wanted to tell her to stop, that he’d be okay, to not worry, but when he felt someone lift him from the ground, he struggled. His arms were behind his back and bound one on top of the other tightly. He felt the gag being pulled off his mouth and panted once.

“Feisty, here,” he heard, thinking was mohawk. His mouth was pried open and something was forced into it. It felt like a pill. He shook his head, whoever was holding him tightened their grip on his arms. “Ah, here, gimme that water bottle.” Ichigo felt him pry his mouth open again and pour water in. He felt his breath rushing through his nose rapidly as he panted until his nose was clipped shut. He jerked as another pair of hands held his jaw closed. He wasn’t going to swallow. He wasn’t. But the need for breath won, in the end, and he swallowed the water, and whatever pill had been put in his mouth before hearing laugher around him.

Then, he was being drug again, and through the thin fabric over his eyes, he saw shadows moving. By the time he heard a door open and close, his head was starting to spin. He was falling to the floor. The world faded for a few minutes and then came slamming back with vivid clarity. The blindfold was slipped off his eyes and his arms untied. The world seemed to be unreal and he was struggling to exist in a world that was fading in and out. Sensation was amplified around him. The feel of his clothes against his skin was like sandpaper and he wanted it off. He was only an existence. There was nothing before and nothing after. Breathing was agony, and his eyes felt like they were going to explode.

He got to his feet after some time and then stumbled against a wall with unsteady feet and his head full of sand. Vaguely, his head seemed to hurt, but it was getting farther and farther away every second. The pain was being fused with numbness. He could hear laughter. It echoed and bounced off the walls around him. Strange the way that happened. He blinked his eyes and tried to get the world to stay still. Everything kept moving around as he tried to walk. He stepped backward and felt someone hold him up. That was good; he didn't want to fall down, wherever he was. Where was he? Oh, that’s right. They said a storeroom.

His head cleared a little and he felt hot breath on his neck. "So, pretty boy, what have you got down there to have four girls on you all night," a ragged breath purred in his ear. He stiffened to feel a hand slide down the front of his jeans.

He struggled a little, the brain fog lifting a tiny bit. "Girls?" he muttered. "Don't have girls, just friends."

Suddenly, pain exploded in his face as he was slammed ruthlessly into the stone wall. He cried out, feeling the nose bones shattering on impact. Blood exploded in front of his eyes. Then the numbness took hold again.

"Like hell," the rough voice growled in his ear. "Your orange haired ass cockblocked me and my boys on all four of them. So I think you must be fucking all of them."

Oh shit, his brain told him, kicking into gear again finally. Even though he had been clear headed not ten minutes ago, right now he couldn’t remember how he got here. "No, no, we're friends…I come out…I-I'm their driver, not their lover!"

Then man leaned forward. All he could see was greasy looking black hair falling close to his face. He smelled funny too, like leather. "Why not? Are you gay? See I think that’s it." The image of a man with a masked face flashed through his mind. From the club.

Ichigo knew he was in trouble. His brain wasn't working fully but he knew he was in trouble. He shook his head. "No…just friends with them…"

The man behind him, who he still hadn't got a good look at, slammed him into the wall again, pressing up against his back. "I think you are a gay cockblock they bring with them to make sure no one gets into their pants. They use you, like any good gay boy. Bitches like them, they use a gay boy as nothing more as a toy you know."

"No!" he squeaked as he felt the man reach around and grab him by the crotch again.

There was hot breath on his neck again as he felt this man squeeze him through his jeans again and again. He felt himself tremble. “I smell the fear on you,” the voice said in a hoarse whisper. “I like fear. It smells wonderful. I like fear a lot, the more the better.”

“C’mon, Nödt, get on with it, I’ve fucking to blue balls after that big titted one got me hot,” came a voice nearby that Ichigo vaguely recognized. The guy that had been chatting Orihime up, that’s right. Orihime. They had kidnapped Orihime and him. “Can’t fuck her since she’s for sale.”

“Yeah,” another familiar voice. “If this faggot is going to stand his ass between me and pussy, I’ll take it out on him. I coulda fucked that black-haired dyke bitch by the end of the night if I tried hard enough.”

“Hush, now, Driscoll, boy’s shaking already, let’s see if I can’t get him a little more fearful for his life,” the first one muttered, Nödt, apparently.

Ichigo couldn’t stop trembling no matter how hard he tried. He knew this guy wanted to see him scared, but he really couldn’t not be scared. He had no idea where he was and no clue where anyone else was. He had no idea where the club was compared to here. He could barely remember what happened in the last half hour. No one would be looking for him until the next day at the least.

"P-please...let me go…" he groaned, still not in control of his limbs. What was wrong with him? He should have been able to shake off these guys and get out of here. He had a black belt for godssakes and sparred every week with Tatsuki, and barring that, he’d been a gymnast forever and should have been able to slip out of their grip.

"Oh, you know, I think we are going to have some fun, boys," Nödt said and breathed out breath on his neck again.

"He ain't looking too well Nödt; you think I doped him up too much? Ain't much fun if he don't scream," the one with the floppish mohawk said. Doped? The image of trying to hold his mouth closed flashed through his mind.

"I think he'll scream quite a bit, Bazz. He’ll scream a lot before we’re done,” the growling voice said in his ear.

Ichigo was flipped to face his attackers and his eyes went wide. The one with the greasy black hair had been wearing a mask before, but now he could see his lips and mouth were wrong, like they were eaten away by something. The visage was horrifying, to be honest, and in his drugged state, it made the guy look like some sort of hellish demon. In his rational mind, he knew that the guy must have had some sort of cancer or something that had caused some of his lips to be cut away, but it didn’t matter to his hazy mind right then. He began begging to be let go again and shivering.

“Ah, you know, when we’re done, we’ll kill you,” Nödt said with a too wide grin. “After we’re done and hurt you as much as we can.”

“Why?” Ichigo stammered. “W-why?”

Nödt leaned forward and licked a stripe of Ichigo’s cheek. “Because we can.”

Fear blossomed in his belly like never before. He could fight, really well, but he got it now. He'd been drugged, and from the feeling, maybe overdosed. He remembered suddenly that moments ago they’d put a pill in his mouth and forced him to swallow it. The world spun sickly as he fell to the ground, hands splayed out and almost crashing his face into the floor. The storeroom floor stank, though, and the smell roiled over him as a mix of metal and vomit. He barely noticed when his pants were yanked off his body, he just remembered sudden pressure and pain and then he was screaming into someone's palm, and they were laughing. Someone grabbed his head and pulled it up and his eyes went wide. Wait, no…even as drugged as he was, he knew this person. He knew them and if they were here… His thoughts were halted when the man he was staring up at wrenched his mouth open to abuse.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez stood beside his partner, Nelliel Tu Odell, and waited for word. This operation had been in the works for nearly a year now. They were members of the Shinigami police organization, and they were about to put a major dent in the works of the Wandenreich crime syndicate. The Shinigami were a large, national organization that worked with INTERPOL. Over the last fifty years, the increase in the number of criminal organizations had quadrupled. New innovations in designer drugs and their distribution had meant that more and more people were trying to move into organized crime. However, only a few of them survived. The Wandenreich had been one of those.

The Loving Touch Massage parlor was a front for a brothel being run out of the basement. It had taken a lot of work, but they had finally put enough together to bust the place wide open. They hadn’t been able to touch many of the other divisions, but this place was a steady source of income. It would put a dent in them. A big dent.

“So do we know for sure if any of them are on site?” Nel whispered to him.

“No idea. All I know is that they said the warrants were hot, and that everything was in place,” Grimmjow answered as he waited.

“We are go, repeat, we are go,” the com link chirped in his ear.

Grimmjow grinned, stepping around to the door and nodding at Nell before kicking the door at the knob. The door popped open immediately and he was in. The whole operation went off seamlessly. The upper levels were easy enough; by the time they went in, the legal massage parlor was closed. They had gone down into the basement and found the brothel operation in full swing. Now, after they had taken several women who were running the brothel into custody, they were going room by room and clearing everyone out. Nel and Grimmjow and their whole division was heavily involved in this bust because of the human trafficking victims since they were the special victims division. The Tactical Assault division and the organized crime division were also heavily represented in this raid. 

So far, they’d found three empty rooms, but as they came to the end of a hallway they heard voices. Grimmjow put a finger to his lips and waved at Nel to slow her pace and keep quiet.

“I think you gave him too much, Nödt. He’s not even screaming anymore. This is like fuckin’ a corpse.”

“Nah, you sure he didn’t just become a corpse?” There was a pause. “Still alive. Just dazed. Hey.” There was a slapping sound. “Wake the fuck up. Or do I need to call our special friend back to see you again?”

Grimmjow heard a weak cry and he had to do something. He gestured to Nel to flank the door and he turned the knob to see it wasn’t locked. He held up his fingers and counted down from three before he pushed the door open with his gun, a pearl handled and engraved berretta he called Pantera.

“Freeze. Shinigami Police. The place is already locked down, so give up,” he announced.

“Oh, really?” the one standing with his back to the door said before he turned to face Grimmjow. Grimmjow grimaced because the guy’s mouth was fucked up. Grimmjow could see two other men but not who had cried out for help.

“See, the problem is, I don’t want to be caught,” the one with the messed-up face said. He grinned, which was slightly terrifying before he reached inside his jacket and threw something. There was a flash and a thunderous noise that sent both Nel and Grimmjow to the ground.

Grimmjow got up immediately and ran toward where there was still a body on the floor. He heard through the ringing in his ears the sound of the others. He dropped to his knees and found a pulse on the bloody body before him. He was shocked when the boy, he had to be a boy he didn’t look more than fifteen, opened his eyes and stared at him.

“Hey, hey, you’re awake, come on, stay with me,” he said and moved to put his hands on his neck to keep him from moving in case he had a neck injury.

He was kneeling with his knees almost touching the top of his head, holding his head still. He could feel the blood that was matting his hair was still wet. His eyes were blown wide but he locked eyes with Grimmjow as lights appeared around them. He guessed Nel had summoned an EMT. He heard them but he was focused on the boy’s face. “Hey, there you go, just look at me,” he muttered to him as the ringing started to fade.

“We need a backboard,” he heard Isane’s voice. “GSW to the gut, possible stab wound to the left shoulder and right thigh. Possible skull fracture. Nasal and orbital trauma. Sexual assault and related trauma definite. Possible dislocation of left hip and right hand appears to be damaged. Patient is still conscious.” There was a pause as whoever she was talking to on her com said something to her. “Confirmed, patient is conscious. Possible overdose on unknown substance.”

Grimmjow couldn’t let him go though, even when Isane was feeling behind his head. He just kept staring at him. Finally, he was moving his lips like he was trying to say something. Grimmjow looked at Isane who nodded at him.

“Hey, I’m here, okay. Whatever it is, it’s fine.”

He tried to say something a couple times before coughing and blood spraying everywhere, including all over Grimmjow’s face since it was so close to his. He didn’t move though.

“No, don’t talk. Just try to relax, we’re going to fix you up.” Grimmjow wasn’t going to tell him that he hadn’t seen anyone survive something this bad before. He wasn’t sure how to tell him that. The gunshot wound was enough, but the amount of blood covering the floor right now was enough to convince him that there was no way this kid was going to live.

He kept trying to talk, as though he had to tell them something, as Isane and the others tried to stabilize his wounds enough to move him. Finally, they got him onto the backboard, and Grimmjow let go of him as they strapped his head into the board. He helped them lift it onto the gurney and ran out with them to the waiting ambulance. Isane glanced at Hanataro and back at Grimmjow.

“Grimm, I hate to ask, but I need someone to ride in the back in with some muscle in case I need help. Hanataro isn’t able to lift this guy if I need it,” Isane said as they rolled the gurney into the back.

“Sure,” he said without hesitation, climbing up into the back and sitting next to the boy’s head. He put a hand on his forehead above the purpling bruises rising around his left eye. His face was a mess, to be honest. He kept trying to say something, though, and his lips were moving in the same fashion, so it was the same thing. He wasn’t going to stop until someone heard him.

“Hey, hey,” he said as he leaned over his face, putting his ear close to the boy’s mouth. “What is it, I’ll try and hear, okay?”

He tilted his head, watching Isane and Hanataro as they ran the IV lines and tried to keep him stable. He could feel the warm breath on his ear as the boy kept trying to say something. Finally, he caught it. He blinked and sat up, staring at him. “What…what in the hell does that mean?” he muttered.

As soon as he got the message across, though, the boy’s eyes fluttered and close. A second passed before he started violently seizing. Isane and Hanataro were saying things Grimmjow didn’t get and finally, his body calmed and they were at the hospital, rolling him out. Grimmjow stepped down out of the ambulance just as Nel walked up.

“Did you ever figure out what he was saying?” she asked as they walked together into the hospital.

“Yeah, finally caught it. Doesn’t make any damn sense, though.”

“What was it?” she asked as they went into the back of Shinigami Medical.

“Rainfall sunshine,” Grimmjow muttered, glancing at her.

“Rainfall sunshine?” she asked, looking just as confused.

Grimmjow shook his head. “Doesn’t matter, no way that kid is gonna live. You heard Isane reading off his injuries to Captain Unohana. No matter how good that woman is, I don’t know that she can fix that kid,” he said with a sigh.

“Sirs!” came a voice behind them. They looked to see it was one of Tac’s officers. “Director wants to speak with you!”

They nodded and left to find the massive director of the tactical division, Director Kenpachi Zaraki. Not surprisingly, he was in the main tactical room with his assistant director, a petite woman who only wanted to be called Yachiru, and Captain Ikkaku and his vice Yumichika.

“Director, sirs,” Grimmjow said, nodding as he came into the room.

“Yeah, the three fuckers that flash-banged you got out through secret exit in that storeroom to the sewers. By the time we got there, they were gone. Bastards picked that room for that reason, I’d imagine,” he said as he sighed. “Fucking cowards that wouldn’t stand and fight. How’s the boy you brought in?”

“I don’t know,” Grimmjow muttered. “He was in bad shape. No idea how long he’d been in that room with them, but he was messed up. They beat the dog shit out of him and he’d been shot and stabbed. Do we know what the kid did to merit that treatment?”

“One of the vics, a girl that was tied up in one of the rooms, might have information on it. Kuchiki is in with her now if you want to check it out. Interrogation room five,” Yachiru announced. “Do well!”

Grimmjow sighed and left with Nel. Before they even got to the room, they heard sobbing. He opened the door to see their petite captain sitting and holding a young woman with long light brown hair. They came in and sat down beside them.

“Honey, you have to calm down so we can understand,” Rukia Kuchiki, captain of the Special Victims Division said as calmly as possible.

The woman took a minute and seemed to be getting herself under control. Finally she looked up with teary eyes. “I’m Rukia, and thse are two ofmy people, Grimmjow and Nel. They found your friend and helped him get here.”

“You found Ichigo?” she gasped, looking at them. “They were going to kill him, is he okay? What happened to him?”

“Hold on, slowly,” Grimmjow said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s start at the beginning. Why don’t you tell us what happened.”

Orihime Inoue told them about the club, going there and then getting grabbed as they were leaving. She explained what she had been told, and that she was supposed to be picked up by someone named Quilge. She told them about Ichigo being drug off after they made him take some sort of pill that made him stumble and act strange.

“Please, is he okay?” she begged.

Grimmjow tried to look reassuring. “He’s in serious condition, but he’s with our Director, and she’s one of the best doctors in the country. She’s going to be doing everything to save him.”

She looked around at them. “Did they…they said they were going to…to…”

“You shouldn’t worry about the details, Ms. Inoue,” Rukia said with a smile. “For now, know that he’s getting the best care he can, and you need to take care of yourself. Do you have his family’s contact information?” she asked.

Orihime nodded, giving Rukia what she needed. Rukia stood and smiled at Nel. “Would you mind staying with her? I’m going to take Grimmjow to get Ichigo’s family.”

“Of course, Captain,” Nel said and nodded.

Rukia got up with Grimmjow and they left. “Prognosis?” she asked as they walked toward the exit.

“Not good. You got the prelim over the com.”

“Yeah. He seized on the way over. That’s not a good sign,” she said as they headed toward the plain black fourdoor that they all drove. She got in the driver’s side and Grimmjow the other. “They’re close. I’d rather do this in person as it is.”

The sun was beginning to rise as they pulled into a house attached to an urgent care clinic. They got out and headed to the door, knocking for a long while before a girl with short black hair yanked it open.

“What the hell are you banging on the door at five in the morning?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“We need to see Dr. Isshin Kurosaki,” Rukia said formally.

“Wha…?” the girl asked and looked up as her father walked up behind her.

“I’m Isshin, can I help you?” he asked.

“I’m Captain Rukia Kuchiki with the Shinigami Police, and we need to talk to you about your son, Ichigo Kurosaki,” she said without a hint of emotion.

“Uh, come in,” Isshin said, letting them both in. “Has something happened? Is Ichigo in trouble?”

Rukia sighed and glanced at Grimmjow. “Sir, I’m afraid to tell you that he’s currently in critical condition at Shinigami Medical. We ask that you come right away,” she said, her face softening significantly since they were inside the house.

Isshin blinked and the dark haired girl was staring at her. Another girl had walked up in the middle of what she said and had covered her mouth.

“What…what happened? Was he in an accident?” Isshin asked, trying to retain composure.

Grimmjow shook his head. “He was involved in an incident with organized crime. He has been injured badly, and the outlook isn’t good,” Grimmjow spoke slowly and tried to avoid their eyes. He hated this part. “If you wish to see him, you may wish to come right away.”

Isshin shook his head. “I don’t understand. What…what happened? He’s never done anything criminal, he’s a medical student, he’s a good boy…”

“Dr. Kurosaki, your son wasn’t involved in anything illegal. It was most likely a situation of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were attempting to kidnap a friend of his, and he tried to intercede. The attack on him was retaliation, as far as we can tell. He hasn’t been conscious to tell us what he knows, however. We only know what his friend has told us,” Rukia assured him.

Isshin nodded. “Um, yeah, let me dress. I’ll go up there with the girls,” he said as he turned, leaving them.

Grimmjow and Rukia were let out by the darker haired girl and both collapsed into their seats. “I hate this,” Rukia said.

“Be a miracle if he gets there before the kid dies,” Grimmjow sighed. “I have never seen someone lose that much blood and live.”

“Stranger things have happened,” Rukia said as she started the care and took them back to the Medical facility.

They moved up to check on him and found Dr. Unohana. “How is he?” Rukia asked as the stood outside the glass walled ICU room.

“He’s stable, for now,” she said. “I’ve done what I could. We have to wait now to see if his body can start the healing process.”

“What are his chances?” Grimmjow asked as he watched the boy’s chest rise and fall in the mess of tubes and equipment in the middle of the room.

“Ten percent, maybe. I’ll know more after twenty-four hours. There’s no guarantee he’s not already brain-dead as it is. We just wait, now,” she said sadly as she turned and left.

Grimmjow stared and wondered. “That kid is pretty tough, though, he was conscious when I found him,” Grimmjow muttered.

“You say kid, but he’s twenty,” Rukia commented from where she stood, arms crossed over her chest. “He’s young, but no kid.”

Grimmjow smirked. “He’s a kid.”

“You’re a kid,” Rukia commented. “You’re only twenty-three, so hush up about that.”

“What do you think he meant?” Grimmjow said as he listened to the steady beep of the heartrate monitor. “He kept trying to talk, and finally I could hear it. He said ‘rainfall sunshine’ then looked relieved when I heard him.”

Rukia sighed. “Probably nonsense. His brain shutting down, most likely. Look,” she said as she held up the report. “Vermillion Rose. That’s what he was doped with. No telling what was going on his head. Even if he does wake up, he won’t be all there. You know what this stuff does to people. And they keep refining it and changing the formula.”

There was a long silence. “Maybe. I’m going home before his father gets here. I can’t take it right now, watching that family. Call me if we find out anything.”

“Good night…er, day, Grimm. Try to rest,” she said as he headed toward the door.

Rest. Yeah, after what he saw tonight? He’d be having nightmares for months about what he had seen in that storeroom. Still, as he drove to his apartment, he was dwelling. Something didn’t fit. Something wasn’t sitting right in his mind. There was a piece missing, like something they were all missing.


	2. Vermilion Rose

 

For some reason, Grimmjow couldn’t keep his mind off the kid. Eight weeks passed, and he couldn’t get that face out of his head no matter how hard he tried. He went on with his daily work, as always, and he had his cases. They had a lot of women that had been forced to work in the brothel that his team was dealing with. They had brought in all the women that worked the brothel. Meninas McAllon had been in charge of running the upper and lower levels of Loving Touch. Giselle Gewelle had been in charge of the girls downstairs. Berenice Gabrielli had been the money handler. Aside from the three of them, they had brought in one man, Gerard Valkyrie, who had apparently been a guard for the brothel. In those eight weeks, none of them had talked no matter the motivation or offers they were given.

“I don’t get it,” Rukia growled as she sat at her desk in the narrow office next to the director of the criminal enforcement division’s office. Director Ukitake was standing in her office looking off the level into the lower bullpen where the agents were mingling together. “None of them will turn.”

“They believe in what they were doing,” Ukitake said with a sigh. “Any word on the boy?”

“Director Unohana said that he was stable, in a regular room, but he still hasn’t woken up. There’s something there, though. Did you see what tech caught?” Rukia asked as she stood and picked up a report folder that had been delivered that morning.

Ukitake nodded. “Yeah, I saw. There’s a hit on him already. The boy might not be more than a vegetable when he wakes up, if he wakes up, but for some reason they want him dead for certain. He heard or saw something while he was there. That’s the only explanation.”

“Maybe that nonsense he spoke before he seized up meant something?” she said, opening the other folder on her desk. “Rainfall sunshine. What the hell would that mean?”

Ukitake shook his head. “It had to occur there, whatever he knows.” He turned and saw Director Sōsuke Aizen walking across the floor toward the back and snorted. “You know, if he’d said something like sunburst, I might be worried…”

Rukia glanced up. “Huh?” Rukia asked, confused.

“The Organized Crime division’s insignia. It looks like a sunburst, if you look at it a little sideways,” he said with a frown. “Did they get anything off the rape kits?”

“The DNA came back inconclusive. The samples were mixed. Also, there were traces of bleach…” she muttered the last.

Ukitake sighed. “Someone involved doesn’t want to be identified. We confirmed from Grimmjow that one of them was Nödt? He’s hard to miss, though.”

“Yeah, he was, and possibly Bazz from the description of the hair. One oral sample was connected to Nödt,” Rukia said with a frown. “They weren’t worried about getting caught, but someone was. They think there were four samples, but with the degradation…”

Ukitake shook his head. “Something doesn’t seem right about all of this. I’m not sure what it is. I’ll put some more people on the contract and see if we can’t trace back to Yahweh. Did they get anything off the tox screens?”

“Vermillion Rose, as we suspected, but a highly-concentrated version of it. That alone almost killed the boy,” Rukia sighed. “Amazingly, the stomach wound was the least of his problems. Managed to not injure anything other than the muscle surrounding his intestines. If he wakes up, the problem is going to be what the Vermillion Rose has done to his head. We’re pretty sure Yahweh’s scrambled his own brain with that stuff.”

Ukitake nodded. “Let me know if there is any change. Send Grimmjow and Nel over to check in with the Kurosaki family.”

Rukia closed the files and looked up a few minutes after Ukitake left to see Grimmjow’s imposing form leaning against the doorframe. “Heard that?”

“Ya, sorry. Was waiting to see if you knew anything.”

“Head over. See if he’s shown any sign of waking up,” Rukia said with a deeper sigh.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow stood outside the room and looked in. Four weeks. He knocked on the frame of the door and saw that they had given him a roommate. Isshin sat in a  chair beside the bed. He looked up at Grimmjow’s gentle knock. He smiled and stood up, walking into the hall.

“Agent Jaegerjaquez.”

“Grimmjow, please,” he said. “Or Grimm’s fine. Um, how is he?” he asked.

Isshin glanced behind him at the bed where Ichigo lay with an IV and oxygen. The bruising had gone, for the most part. After the initial twenty-four hours had passed, Ichigo had hung on. It wasn’t without incident. The first week, he’d coded twice, and technically had been dead for nearly a minute once. His arm had required pins to stabilize it, and his hand had been damaged severely. The orbital bone had also required some reconstruction, and there had been several surgeries once he’d finally been stabilized enough for them. There was a major question about brain function, however. Those that overdosed on Vermillion Rose sometimes didn’t fare well.

“Uh, well, they’ve said his surgical sites have healed well. The abdominal wound was less severe than they thought initially. He was lucky that way. His hand won’t ever be the same again, so I don’t think he’ll have a chance to become a surgeon like he wanted. Ah, but it depends on him now. He has to wake up,” Isshin said with a sigh. “I…and that doesn’t even count the assault. To think…I’ve fretted so much over my girls, you know, growing up in this world, and I never imagined that it…it would be my son who suffered this type of thing. I mean, he’d never even dated anyone, male or female…”

“Male or female, it don’t matter,” Grimmjow said with a sigh. “That’s why we work in mixed teams. Rape is violence, not sex, so it don’t matter even what the perp’s normal preference is. I’ve put away more than one straight guy that attacked a man. Violence and making them feel less than human. That’s what this shit is about.”

Isshin smirked. “You know, that boy and sex. I had the talk early,” Isshin shook his head and leaned against the doorframe. “He told me he had no interest, and I was a bit worried, maybe it was hormone issues. I am a doctor. I did run tests, checked testosterone levels, you know, just to make sure there was nothing physically wrong with him. Everything seemed to be normal, so I figured that he'd eventually blossom, if you'll forgive the expression." Isshin gave him a sideways grin. “But never happened. You expect boys to go through certain…ah stages…when they hit puberty. Wet dreams, urges, masturbation, it comes with the territory. Ichigo never had that happen. He showed zero interest in sex or sexual stimulation. He said it was unnecessary to his goals to become a doctor."

“Asexual?” Grimmjow asked, curious.

“He said no when I asked him. Well, no, he didn’t say no, he said he just didn’t know for sure. He said he was going to figure it out once he got out of school. To know that he’s probably never going to reach his dream is painful,” Isshin said with a sigh again.

“I see they gave him a roommate?” Grimmjow asked.

“Yeah, I actually am familiar with the head psychiatrist, Dr. Ishida. He’s an old friend of my wife’s family. He knew I’d be here frequently with Ichigo, and the other young man is epileptic with a history of mental disturbances and hallucinations. So he asked to put him in there. Ichigo…won’t mind,” he said as he glanced back into the room.

Both Grimmjow and Isshin, though, caught the twitching of his hand. Both rushed into the room. Both watched as his eyes fluttered and opened.  Isshin resumed his seat beside him, clutching his hand tightly, and Grimmjow stood on the other side of him. He turned his head to either side of him before he looked at Isshin, then over at Grimmjow. He blinked, confused, brows knitted together. He turned back to Isshin then yanked his arm away with wild eyes. He glanced over to Grimmjow and grabbed his hand in a crushing grip that made the detective wince.

"Wh-where am I?" he stuttered as he stared up at Grimmjow.

His father spoke up, but didn’t grab his hand again. "You're okay, Ichigo, you're in the hospital, and you've been asleep for a while, but you're awake now!"

The boy swallowed, turning to look at Isshin again, gripping Grimmjow's hand in his left even harder. "Who are you? I don't know you."

Isshin looked like he'd just been gut punched. He stood up and ran out the door to summon Dr. Unohana no doubt.

Ichigo's eyes came to rest on Grimmjow's face. "I know you. I mean, I don't know you, but I do. Is my name Ichigo?"

Grimmjow wished Ichigo’s father would come back, he had no idea how to deal with the kid in this condition. "Um, yah, your name is Ichigo, and that guy was your dad."

The boy tilted his head slightly and nodded, taking in the information. "I don't like him."

"What, he's your dad, you can't not like him," Grimmjow said with a frown.

He frowned, a scowl fixing itself comfortably on his brow. "I don't care. I don't like him. I like you."

Grimmjow had seen plenty of people damaged after assaults in this job, but this was a first. He wasn't the type to take care of anyone. Occasionally, he’d connect with a victim, but that was really Nel’s job, not his.

"Yeah, well kid, that don't matter none, you'll be going home with your dad, okay?"

Ichigo looked away, still gripping his hand. "No."

Grimmjow was about to say something when Isshin returned with Dr. Unohana in tow. Behind them were Ichigo’s sisters who had apparently been in the hospital somewhere.

"Onii-chan!" the brown haired one shouted, running toward the bed and hugging her brother.

Ichigo stiffened and pushed her away. "Please, don't do that, who are you?"

The girl backed away and looked at her dad. "I'm Yuzu, your sister, remember?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I don't know anyone except him." He still had a grip on Grimmjow’s hand.

Dr. Unohana sighed. "Isshin, take your daughters to the waiting room, and let me examine him. There may be a temporary amnesia. I'll do an exam and see." Isshin herded the two girls back out of the room quickly.

She moved forward to reach for Ichigo and he flinched violently away, jerking his body toward the side of the bed that Grimmjow stood on. "Don't touch me!"

"Ichigo, it's okay, I'm your doctor and your friend, Retsu? I've been treating you since you came in several weeks ago?" she said, gently leaning forward.

"No."

To Grimmjow’s surprise, Ichigo sat up, using Grimmjow’s arm to pull himself up and pulled himself off the bed. Of course, he crumpled once he got to his feet, his legs unable to support him after two months of disuse. His IVs came out with a pop and blood ran down his arm from the wounds. He fell in a heap on the floor, clutching the side of the bed and panting.

"Whoa, there, Ichigo!" Grimmjow exclaimed and then reached for him to help him up. Ichigo latched onto his leg and wouldn't let go. “Come on, get back in the bed, please?” he said, trying to pry to young man off of him, but he had a vice like grip on his leg now.

Grimmjow stopped pushing him because he realized he was trembling where he sat, staring at the side of the bed. "No, don't let them touch me."

Grimmjow couldn’t imagine what it must be like to wake up with no memory. The whole world seeming strange, but if he was this scared, was his memory really gone?

Dr. Unohana sighed and nodded to him. "I'll be back with a psych consult, can you stay here, Agent?"

Grimmjow nodded. As she left, Grimmjow leaned over and scooped Ichigo up and put him back into the bed. He grabbed a tissue from the box on the tray table and pressed it to his arm where the IV had come out. "What's wrong with you? She's your doctor. Even without your memory, you should know doctors are here help you."

He shook his head. "No, I don't know her. I don't want her to touch me."

Ichigo crossed his arms in a huff and Grimmjow seriously thought he was pouting. So they sat in silence for a while until the doctor came back with a young man who looked to perhaps a few years older than Ichigo himself.

"Ichigo? This is Dr. Uryū Ishida. He's with our psychiatric department and he wants to see if he can help you figure out where your memory has gone, okay?" she said, introducing the young, thin, dark haired man. Grimmjow heard movement on the other side and saw Ichigo’s roommate was watching them. Dr. Unohana, though, pulled the curtain shut around them and came back into the now enclosed space around the bed.

"I won't talk to him," Ichigo said sternly. "I won't talk to anyone."

Uryū sat down beside the bed in the chair Isshin had been using, and the Dr. Unohana reached over to pull Grimmjow out of the room.

"No!" Ichigo yelped, as though bitten, and reached out and grabbed Grimmjow's hand tightly again. "I'll talk to this guy, if you stay." He turned wide, brown eyes up to him and Grimmjow was once again struck by them, but the only thing he could see was the bloody mess his face had been in when he found him.

Grimmjow ran a hand through his hair and sighed, locking eyes with Dr. Unohana who nodded almost imperceptibly. He sat down on the edge of the bed near the point it sat up, putting his hip against Ichigo’s. Ichigo looked at him with that wide eyed almost innocent look and smiled at him. He then sighed and seemed to visibly relax.

"Okay, Ichigo, I know you don't want to talk, but can you tell me what you remember?" Uryū asked, jotting down information on his clipboard.

Ichigo looked thoughtful. "Blue eyes in the darkness, that's what I remember, then I woke up here."

Uryū looked up again. "Anything else?"

"Nope."

The young doctor made a few more notes. "How are you feeling now?"

Ichigo thought again. "My arm and my face ache sorta, and my stomach feels weird, and I feel fuzzy."

"No, I mean, how do you feel emotionally, not physically?"

Ichigo looked down at his hand tightly intertwined with Grimmjow's larger one. "I…I don't feel anything."

"Are you sure about that, Ichigo?" he continued.

He thought again. "When he lets go, my heart goes faster and I want him to come back and hold my hand again."

"Interesting," Uryū said, jotting things down.

There were a few more terse questions and answers, none leading anywhere helpful. He remembered he loved rain and sunshine, and he loved the color red and loved chocolates, especially the boxed kind you got for Valentine's Day. He was adamant that the coconut ones were terrible though, claiming he didn’t like eating haybales. The only inkling that he remembered anything was he said he remembered something about being scared a lot, but he didn’t know why. After it was done, he said he was tired and wanted to go back to sleep again. Before he slept though, he asked Grimmjow to stay.

As soon as he was asleep though, Grimmjow got up to go find something to eat and head home. Now that he was awake, and they weren’t getting much help on the case out of the him since he had amnesia, he’d have to move on to other cases or different lines of inquiry. He leaned against the counter where the free coffee was and poured another cup of the god awful stuff and tried to figure out what he would do if the kid couldn't explain what exactly he’d seen that merited a hit being put on him. Now that he was conscious, they’d have to get some agents on permanent guard, though. He didn’t realize he’d been stirring his coffee in thought for a good five minutes.

he was stirred from his thoughts by the frantic screams of the kid in the room behind him. He dropped the coffee and ran back inside to find him fighting two nurses who were trying to draw blood from him while he was sleeping. It looked like one was trying to get the arm restraints on him.

Grimmjow walked up in a couple quick strides and put a hand on his shoulder. "Ichigo, you need to stop!" he said.

When his frantic brown eyes met his cyan ones, he relaxed and his eyes filled with tears immediately. The boy took in a hitching breath. "You left me! Why'd you leave me?"

Grimmjow sighed. He kept his hand in place. "I had to piss, kid, okay, and went to grab coffee. You can't flip out on them every time they come in here."

The boy snuggled his head into the hand on his shoulder. "Please, don't leave again…"

The nurses, annoyed, got the blood and left finally. A few minutes later, Dr. Unohana came back in and talked to Ichigo. The responses were the same. Unless Grimmjow was there, he refused to cooperate with anyone. Grimmjow had no idea what he was supposed to do with this. Finally, he looked at her.

“Dr. Unohana, I have to get back to the office, I can’t just hang out in a hospital room,” he said. “Cap is gonna skin me if I don’t report back,” he whispered after Ichigo had fallen asleep again. He still gripped Grimmjow’s hand even though.

Unohana sighed and nodded. “I’ll contact Director Ukitake. How important is what this boy knows?” she asked

“They put a hit on him for it, whatever it is. He’s not going to be safe, and if he stays here, someone might try to get in after him,” Grimmjow confirmed.

“I thought that might be the case,” she said and left.

After a while, they came in and sedated Ichigo through the IV so they could take him for testing. Grimmjow took the opportunity to call in to his captain. He stepped out into the hallway and dialed the office.

“Yo, Cap,” he said with a sigh.

“Grimmjow, seems like you fell into an interesting position,” Rukia said with a smirk to her voice. “Papa Grimmjow imprinted on the kitten, eh?”

Grimmjow snorted. “I didn’t do nothing to make it happen, so don’t start, Cap. What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Director Unohana doesn’t think forcing him to go with his family is a good idea.”

“What, why? He can’t stay in the hospital!” he growled. “He has to go somewhere.”

There was a pause. “Yeah, that he does. One of our safe houses is the best bet.”

“Can’t argue that. Probably would be a problem if he went with his family anyway. That’s a good way to get more people killed…” Grimmjow mused.

“There’s a meeting there at the hospital in about an hour. Director Ukitake will be there, please attend,” she said. “I’m counting on you, Grimm!”

Before he could answer, she hung up. “What the hell is that supposed to mean…” he muttered as he put his cell in his pocket.

He looked back to see the skinny doctor, Uryū, had gone into Ichigo’s room. Grimmjow frowned. Ichigo wasn’t in there, just his roommate. He watched as the doctor gave the patient, a younger man about the same age as Ichigo with dark hair pulled back, a kiss on the cheek before coming out. Uryū stopped short when he realized Grimmjow was watching him.

“Ah, Agent…” he stammered.

“Grimm, take it you’re not the other guy’s doc,” he said with a smirk.

“Oh, no, ah, Shinobu is my partner. He’s epileptic, so they like to keep him in the open rooms. He’s not much for chatting with other patients either. Putting him in with a comatose patient seemed a good way to keep an eye on him since Ichigo always had someone keeping an eye on the room,” Uryū said, and Grimmjow saw the blush starting to stain his cheeks a bit. “He’s having a rough patch, and my father is his psychiatrist.”

Grimmjow nodded. “Yeah, noticed he doesn’t say anything. But good he’s got someone to look after him, huh?” he added.

Uryū nodded. “Will you be at the meeting?”

“Yeah, my Cap said I’m supposed to be there,” he answered.

“For the best, considering he seems to only like you,” Uryū commented. “I’ve got a couple other patients to check on before the meeting, so I’ll be going,” he said as he walked away.

Grimmjow watched him go and then headed to the conference room on the floor. No one was there yet, so he sat down and played a card game on his phone. He heard the door open and close and looked up to see Director Ukitake walking in with Dr. Unohana. Both acknowledged him and sat down. A few minutes later, Isshin Kurosaki and Uryū came in as well.

Dr. Unohana looked around. “Thank you all. I believe that the situation merits discussion. Isshin, this is Director Ukitake, over our criminal enforcement, and the special victims’ division. Now, I’ll let him explain the situation.”

Ukitake nodded, pushing white hair behind his ears. “The situation isn’t good. Since Ichigo regained consciousness this morning, word has already been sent to the Wandenreich. This means that they are actively watching the hospital and may make a move at any time. We know that a contract hit already exists, but we don’t know who might try to take it. It could come from within the Wandenreich or from some outside source. They want Ichigo dead for whatever he witnessed in that basement.”

Scratching his head, Grimmjow spoke up. “I don’t understand. How could they know already? And what could he have possibly seen that we didn’t?”

“Unknown, but it might have something to do with the fourth DNA sample collected,” Ukitake said with a sigh. We are certain of the identities of the other three attackers, just from what Nel and Grimm saw down there. As Nödt is hard to forget, as is Bazz B. The third most likely was Driscoll. The three have known to stick together lately. The fourth contributor, however, tried to cover his tracks. Bleach was found in the sample, meaning the attacker tried to make sure no one pulled DNA evidence from the rape kit,” Ukitake said as he looked around.

“Bleach?” Isshin asked. “It was contaminated after it was taken?”

“Ah, I’m afraid not,” Unohana said. “It was present at collection. The storeroom they were in had several bottles of it for cleaning, and it appeared to have been used to destroy the samples.”

Isshin paled a bit and sighed. “I still…”

“Don’t think on it, Isshin,” Unohana said. “We need to focus on now. There is a possible plan to ensure everyone’s safety and hopefully help heal Ichigo’s mental state.”

Uryū nodded. “Tests show no brain damage. Ichigo’s amnesia appears to be trauma induced. It may fade with time. Forcing him into situations that trigger panic like we’ve seen are not going to help. Agent Jaegerjaquez appears to be the only person he is able to connect with so I suggest using that link  to deal hopefully repair his amnesia.”

“Use my link?” Grimmjow asked, frowning.

Director Ukitake spoke up. “Our suggestion is to keep Grimmjow and Ichigo together, allow them to live in one of our safe houses attached to the Seireitei building, and hopefully foster a relationship that helps him.”

Isshin was quiet for a while. “But he should go home with me.”

“You and your daughters would be in danger, and it will not help him,” Unohana said with a sad smile. “The faster we can cure his amnesia, the sooner he can go home.”

“If you believe it is for the best. I just want my son back,” Isshin said, looking around the room at them.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Sir, we’ve had a few responses on the kid. There’s a couple freelancers who want to make the attempt. And of course, the boys want to finish the job,” Jugram Haschwalth said from the door to the office.

“Good, good. We can’t let that boy live with what he saw down there. I told the boys it was a bad idea to leave him breathing,” Yahweh, the leader of the Wandenreich crime syndicate said from where he sat.

“Yes sir. Do you wish anything else of me?” Jugram asked with slight bow

“No, thank you. Send Bambietta in,” Yahweh said as he stared out of the window to the office he was in.

A few minutes later, the door opened again and a dark-haired woman stood and watched him. “Sir?”

“The boy. Do we know what he knows?” he asked.

Bambietta adjusted her white hat with the chaos wheel on the front. “Yeah, well, you know that the biggest problem is that our associate was there and took part. He was the one that shot him after all.”

“Yes, if he is found out, we lose everything in the Shinigami ranks. Having him on our side is part of the reason that we’ve lasted as long as we have. Anything else that could have happened?” he asked.

“There’s the possibility that he might have seen the product that was in that room.”

A long silence stretched across the room. To anyone, the place seemed to be an average office building. It was, of course, except for being the Wandenreich base of operations. Their cover was an electronics company that specialized in security system. Thus far, no one had associated the criminal organization with the business. Of course, the public face of the company was a staff of perfectly average people with no criminal connections.

“That could be problematic. If the tampered product doesn’t get placed in with the regular product, and spread over the city, we cannot begin the operation. Our hold on the city depends on fear. I can’t find others who are able to ascend to my status unless Vermillion Rose is readily available to the masses that do not normally buy drugs.” He didn’t turn away from the window as he spoke. “Gods walk among men. It is time for us to stand and take over instead of allowing mortals to believe they are in control of their pitiful lives. Bring me this boy. He has survived despite being given our most potent version of Vermillion Rose. This is an incredible feat. He may be one of the gods.”

Bambietta nodded. “Of course, sir. But you’ve put a hit on him. Do you wish to retract it?”

He smiled at the window. “No, I never retract my orders. I have confidence in you, my dear. You’ll capture him before anyone else can kill him.”

“He’s at the Shinigami Medical facility, I have no access…”

“You must gain access. If he’s a god among men, I shall have him raised to stand beside me.”

Bambietta nodded. “And if he will not stand beside you, uh, sir?”

“Then he will lay under my feet.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Isn’t Nel better suited for this?” Grimmjow complained as he watched Rukia fill out the forms at the nurses’ station just outside Ichigo’s room. Ichigo hadn’t woken from the sedation yet.

“Nel didn’t make a connection with the victim, did she?” Rukia didn’t look up as she spoke. “You’ll be in Apartment four on the second floor. There are two bedrooms, kitchen with a table and chairs, a living area, and one bath. I’m afraid that will be shared.”

Grimmjow stared at her in disbelief. “I didn’t think they’d agree…” he said. “I can’t do this, Cap, I can’t! I’m not…”

Rukia fixed him with one of her glares and he sputtered and snorted, but stopped. "Agent Jaegerjaquez, I know this is highly unusual. However, the boy has amnesia and you seem to be the only one that does not cause him intense anxiety. He also is a victim of sexual assault. You know how to handle such victims. Granted, you are not as good at that part as your partner, but that's why you're with Nel."

Dr. Unohana came up with Uryū. “Grimmjow, I know this is not something you are prepared for, but I am confident that you can handle it. The apartment is in the connected building to the Shinigami headquarters and is surveilled at all times. There will be medical staff available to you at a moment’s notice, and Dr. Ishida’s number is his private line. Please, do what you can to help him recover.”

With a grumble, Grimmjow nodded and looked up to see Nel approaching. " I've already been speaking with his family; they'll be putting together some personal things for me to collect this afternoon,” she said with a smile at the distraught Grimmjow. “I’ll stay here, you go get what you need from your place.”

Grimmjow hesitated, knowing that Ichigo was going to freak out when he woke up. He needed a few things of his own, though, so he left. It only took a couple hours for him to get a few bags, books, and his handheld game system taken to the small apartment. It wasn’t very big, but it would do. Each bedroom had a double bed, and the bathroom was a combo shower and tub. He put his things away and went back to the hospital to pick up his charge.

When he got there he knew that things hadn’t gone well while he was gone. He sighed and looked in the glass walled room where he could see Nel standing outside the bathroom door. She was looking exasperated, and he bet Ichigo had locked himself in there.

“I’m going to have to have someone come unlock this,” he heard as he entered the room.

She looked up at Grimmjow and sighed. Grimmjow leaned against the wall beside the door.

“I don’t care,” he heard the petulant Ichigo’s voice on the other side. “Not coming out.”

Grimmjow smirked. “Why are ya giving my partner a hard time, Ichigo?” he asked.

As soon as he spoke, the door lock clicked and popped open. “You left me.”

“I had to get stuff from my place and take it to where we’re gonna be staying. You ready to get out of here?"

"I'm going with you?" he asked, eyes suddenly wide and full of apprehension.

Grimmjow frowned and nodded, and as soon as he did the boy relaxed. "Then that's okay."

"So, let me in there, I have some clothes and I'm going to help you get dressed, if that's okay?" he said, more roughly than he intended.

The boy nodded and opened the door. Nel handed him the set of disposable scrubs she was holding. Grimmjow stepped in the bathroom and shook them out. He helped him into the pants, noticing that he was unsteady still. He then helped him untie the hospital gown he was wearing. He looked up to see the kid was bright red already. He grabbed the top and stopped. Ichigo was staring at the thick scar tissue that was on his abdomen thoughtfully. Grimmjow recognized it as where he’d been shot.

"Hey, I ain't sticking around all day, kid, put this on," he said tossing a black t-shirt at the kid. He fumbled then pulled it on quickly.

"Alight. Let's go, I'm starving, what about you?" he asked, wheeling him out of the bathroom. He got him to the nurses’ station where he ducked his head. Dr. Unohana pulled him aside where Ichigo couldn’t hear her.

Dr. Unohana handed him a heavy black back. "Agent Jaegerjaquez, I've put a few things that his family had left with him while he was comatose. I've also put in a vial of valium and clean syringes. I'm assuming that you are familiar with how to administer intramuscular injections?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I've done it a few times. Thick muscle, upper arm, thigh, or buttocks, right?"

The doctor nodded, pleased that he knew enough. "I've talked to Dr. Ishida, and he agrees that this is currently our only course. He has had no flashbacks yet, but expect them once he leaves the hospital. His memories may return all at once or in bits and pieces. He has no physical cause for the memory loss, remember that. Now, if you have any problems, I've left a card with my cell phone and Dr. Ishida's cell number in there, along with the boy's family information and his full medical work up and record in case you need it."

Grimmjow nodded. “Alright, got it.” He returned to the wheelchair and smiled as Ichigo looked up at him again.

“Can we leave?” Ichigo asked.

“Sure thing, gonna grab food on the way, then go to the place we’re staying.”

Ichigo nodded. “Okay.”

* * *

 


	3. Obscuring Mists

 

A nurse Grimmjow didn’t catch the name of went out with them. Grimmjow worried the entire way, though. There was something off and he wasn’t sure what it was. As he walked he thought about how those friends had come and visited while he was unconscious. He was sure that if they knew he’d woken up they would have come again, but there was no time for that. He wondered how long it would be before they would get to see him again. He noticed that Ichigo kept watching out the windows as they walked. He had pulled his car up while they got things ready and he got him into the passenger seat of his fleet issue SUV. These vehicles didn't look like much, but they were capable of street pursuit. Grimmjow moved around and sat in the driver's seat, wondering if this was such a good idea. He didn’t want to be locked up with a victim of this type because he knew that it was unpredictable. However, what choice did they have? They were going to kill him if they didn’t do something, and they couldn’t take the chance of traumatizing him even worse by making him deal with people besides Grimmjow.

He looked over and saw he was staring out the window again, and started the car. They drove in silence for a bit, Ichigo watching the world outside the car intently.

"So whatcha want to eat? Anything fast and cheap, a'course," Grimm said, glancing around for eating places.

As he pulled to a stop at a light, he heard a shaky inhale. He looked over to see Ichigo was staring at him. The look in his eyes was like someone had asked him to go into a warzone. "I…I don't wanna…go in a place….don't make me go in a place…"

Grimmjow placed a hand on the boy's shaking knee, turning forward as the light changed. "Hey, kid, that's what they got drive through for, ya know? We'll take it back to this place and get you all set up in your room."

Ichigo nodded, the shaking in his leg slowing, but not stopping. Okay, no going out for him for a while, Grimmjow thought sullenly. Great. He hated being cooped up somewhere all the damn time. At least he had work. Dammit, he thought to himself. He hadn’t checked to see what the plan was for work hours. He only knew that he wasn’t supposed to be left unsupervised.

They ended up pulling through a McDonald's, and Grimmjow ordered a few things, having no idea what the kid would eat. They pulled up to the window, and he pulled out some cash.

"Ichigo! Long time no see!" the girl in the window said, leaning out with a huge smile. Her nametag read Lisa and she had two schoolgirl pigtail braids in her black hair. Ichigo looked at her like she was a stranger.

"Who are you?" he asked, his eyes studying her face.

The girl was taken aback. "I'm Lisa, you brat! We've sat next to each other in almost every class since you started pre-med! You know, you've missed a bunch of class, everyone's wondering where you are, and the prof won't tell us anything. That Johns Hopkins recruiter was lookin' for you too. Like, been months since you were at school."

Ichigo just stared at her. "I don't know you."

The absolute shock on the girl's face was clear as she handed over the food. She looked like she wanted to ask more, but Grimmjow quickly said thanks and pulled away. It wasn’t like he could tell her anything.

On the way to the Seireitei building Ichigo was silent until they pulled into the underground garage. The place was a massive complex, and Grimmjow had to put in his ID three times before they parked. They came to a stop and Ichigo looked over at Grimmjow and frowned.

"Why do they all act like I should know them?" he asked.

"Come on, kid, you know why. Just because you don't remember them, they remember you," Grimmjow said tightly, grabbing the bags of food and getting out of the car.

Ichigo followed him like a puppy, glancing here and there, his eyes following every shadow. Grimmjow didn't notice how aggravated the kid was getting as they walked across the dark garage. Ichigo’s gait was off, no doubt his muscles were sore despite being moved while he was comatose. He stumbled a lot and seemed to get winded easily. Grimmjow wasn’t paying much attention to him as they got near the elevator door. So when he latched onto his arm, Grimmjow very nearly knocked him into the wall in surprise. Ichigo stood to the side a bit, arms crossed over his chest, eyes wide, just staring at the blue haired man.

"Fuck, sorry, kid, you surprised me, come on," Grimmjow said reaching out for the boy again.

It seemed to take forever for him to move but he finally reached a shaking hand out to the much larger man. They got in the elevator and headed up to the third floor. This part of the building was designated for witnesses, family of victims, and victims of crimes that the Shinigami were investigating. The other side was the public entrance where the actual offices were located. The elevator was a freight elevator so it was large. Even so, Ichigo clutched his hand tightly. He led him through the hall. Grimmjow felt the pull on his arm as Ichigo’s strength started to flag.

"Okay, this is your bedroom, and I got some clothes and stuff from your dad in there on the bed," Grimmjow said, motioning to his left as they walked down the entry hallway. He pointed to the next room. “Here’s the bathroom, and then this is my room here,” he said, pointing to the third door.

He then led him into the front part of the room, a huge open floor plan with no walls dividing kitchen, living area or dining area. He sat down on the sofa and dropped the food bags and drink carrier to the table and turned on the TV. All these rooms were furnished, and while Grimmjow had brought a few things, he as rather enjoying the nice, big TV and cable service they’d have here. Ichigo slowly followed him, sitting down beside him. Grimmjow turned on a soccer game and handed a burger to the boy. He took it and looked it over then proceeded to devour it. Grimmjow smirked but didn’t say anything. They sat in silence until the game was over and Grimmjow realized Ichigo had fallen asleep curled up against the arm of the couch.

Grimmjow smiled. The boy was adorable, a sleek, muscular build, and almost feminine in his facial features. Soft orange brows were knitted in sleep now, and those big brown eyes were hidden. His hair had gotten longer in the hospital, so it lay in his eyes here and there, and was brushing his shoulders. Grimmjow grunted and picked up the boy bridal style. He was lighter than he should have been, having lost muscle and fat during the coma. Honestly, it was a wonder he was moving as well as he was. He laid him down in white bedding and covered him up, turning out the lights. Well not bad for the first night here, he guessed. He didn't know but the night was nowhere near over for him.

_Hands everywhere. Everywhere, it seemed. Pinching, pulling, scratching. How could one person have so many hands? No, not one person, three, three people were mauling him with their hands. The other one had finished and was standing away and watching now. He whined out at the treatment, and his face was burning hot. Wet blood was flowing down his throat making him choke on it._

_"He's choking already, and I haven't even started in on his mouth! Fuck, why’d you have to bust his mouth again," a cruel voice above him._

_No, he moaned but it was unheard as pain shot through him, up his back and down both his legs. Something was broken, but no one cared, no one listened to him. He tried to push away and felt an iron grip on his right arm. He looked up into a smiling face as the man held his arm out. He had a floppy mohawk_

_"Yer movin' too much, here, let me help," the man said and wrenched his shoulder painfully, and he felt the bones shattering under the force in his wrist and the strange popping sound as his shoulder slid out of place._

_His arm fell with a flop beside him and he couldn't move it anymore. His eyes focused on the mangled state of his hand and arm. There was no way that was going to heal. His voice was hoarse as he felt his head jerked up and suddenly his throat was burning as the man shoved himself into him. He couldn't scream anymore, and the pain radiating through him was so much. There was one digging nails into his hips and he was only staying up because the one in front of him was holding him by the hair. He turned his eyes toward the fourth man who hadn’t touched him since him abused his mouth at the beginning._

_“Finish, I’ll have a last go before I leave,” the fourth man, who he thought was radiant for some reason. Brilliant sunshine. There was a sickening slide in his throat and he coughed when the mohaked one moved._

_Then he was slammed to his back and looking up at the fourth, the radiance blinding. He could cry out now, and he did. The other three laughed, he heard it clearly. Then there was something, was it a gun? He gasped as the blast was thunderous, leaving his ears ringing. He realized pain was radiating from his stomach._

_“Should give you enough time to have fun before he bleeds out,” the radiant one said. “Give me that bleach,” he heard and he was flipped onto his stomach again, hips pulled upward and he felt something cold. It took a second to realize what was happening. He yelled there was no point. His head was wrenched up and the radiant one was pouring something in his mouth and he sputtered and spit to get it out of his mouth._

_“If you wish to continue, use some water first, might get a chemical burn if you don’t.”_

_“Whatever,” and his head was wrenched up again, this time water was being poured into his mouth. “Heh, kinda like waterboarding, idn’t it?” the one with messed up lips said._

_Again, something cold was poured on his body, at least this time it was water. He panted into the floor as they dropped him. He could feel blood seeping from his belly and he couldn’t stop it. He was going to die like this._

_“One more before I slit his throat?”_

_“Why not, he’s about done as it is.”_

_He screamed to stop as his body was moved, and he felt a rush of blood from his gut. His eyes settled on boxes nearby. Rainfall. Why was there rainfall? Wasn’t he in a store room? Why was it raining? His thoughts were cut off as a something slipped into his thigh and he found he could still scream. Laughing. Just laughing at his pain._

Grimmjow had been sound asleep when the screaming woke him. He leaped to his feet, running out into the next room, seeing the orange haired boy screaming in his sleep.

"Shit," he muttered and grabbed the syringe he'd thankfully thought to fill before he went to bed himself.

He tried to wake him, but Ichigo was locked into whatever dream had him. He was lying on his back, thrashing. Grimmjow quickly flipped him over and pulled him over his lap to steady him. He yanked down the back of his sleep pants and quickly administered the sedative into the upper lobe of his butt. The effect was quick, the boy relaxing across Grimmjow's lap after a few more minutes of fighting whatever demons plagued him. Grimmjow returned his pants over his hip and pet the sleeping boy's head until his breathing went back to normal. Against his better judgment, he picked up the kid and carried him into his own room, dropping him on the far side of the king sized bed and covering him in his own set of covers. He then filled a second syringe, just in case, and laid down himself, watching the boy until sleep finally claimed him.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow awoke with a start to find the bed empty. The covers were a tangled mess where he'd left Ichigo. He got up and decided to not call out, just in case he spooked him. He may have had amnesia, but after the nightmare or memory last night, Grimmjow was sure he might be shaken today. He heard his soft breathing as he got closer to the bathroom, and then found him. Ichigo was seated in the bathwater, knees tucked to his chest, staring at the backsplash. The water was red tinged and it looked like he'd tried to scrub himself raw. Grimmjow could see small rivulets of blood running down his neck and back.

"Oh, fuck," Grimmjow muttered.

He should have expected this. He wasn't sure how much memory he'd gained, if any or if it was an unconscious reaction, but it wasn't unusual for victims of this kind of crime to wash obsessively, sometimes to the point of bleeding. It wasn't that far-fetched, trying to rid oneself of something so traumatic by physically scrubbing it away. Some were worse than others, but he had hoped that with the amnesia, this would be avoided.

Ichigo seemed zoned out as Grimmjow reached down to pull the plug on the water, and once it was gone, he wrapped a clean towel around him. He didn't resist, just sat there staring at the wall. Grimmjow picked him up, grabbing a second towel as he went by and laid him on his bed, his gaze still seemingly locked into nothing. He was barely blinking. He really hoped he wasn’t going catatonic on him. That would be even worse than the amnesia. Grimmjow laid him on his back and examined him and found no serious abrasions, but a few places that needed to be covered to avoid infection. Grimmjow placed the towel over his waist and went and grabbed the first aid kit. When he got back to the bed, he was surprised that Ichigo had sat up and was looking at himself

"Wh…ow," he said, lifting up his arm where there was a particularly big patch oozing blood. "How'd that happen?" he muttered, noticing a couple other places oozing as Grimmjow sat down.

Grimmjow put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay, lets patch this up."

Ichigo watched thoughtfully as Grimmjow applied some salve and gauze on several places. Grimmjow could feel his stare as he did it, and he was wondering just what the hell was going on with the kid now. Maybe an effect of the sedative he'd given him last night? He wasn't sure.

"All done!" he announced, a little louder than he intended, seeing how the kid flinched.

Grimmjow smiled and got up. A minute later he came back with a duffle bag. He placed it beside him on the bed. "Pick ya out something quick, I have ta get ta work soon."

Ichigo frowned. "I'm going with you?"

"Of course, idiot. Where else would you go?" Grimmjow answered, heading to take a shower himself.

Ichigo stared at the bag. It was black and had his name embroidered on it. He opened it to find a picture of himself and the family that was supposed to be his. He still didn't know any of them. He laid it on the bed beside him. Next he pulled out a set of paints with a note that said If you feel like it. He frowned. So he painted? Next he rooted around and found a pair of boxer shorts. He sighed and dumped the rest of the bag out on the bed. He slipped on the shorts and picked out a pair of pants, jeans that he almost thought were too tight. Next he found a white shirt with an embroidered fifteen on the front. He looked at it for a long time before putting it on. It fit him well, with just enough room to be comfortable. These were his clothes, then? From his life?

Obviously, these were his clothes. It was stuff that the man that said he was his father had left at the hospital while he was asleep. He dug out a pair of socks and a set of black and blue converse sneakers. Finally dressed he looked down at himself. Was this who he was? Was this what he was? He wore jeans and t-shirts? What kind of person did that make him? He couldn’t remember.

"Damn," he heard from the doorway and looked up to see a towel wearing Grimmjow with a blue handled toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. "You look better without a hospital gown."

Ichigo blushed immediately, not knowing how to take a compliment like that. He just looked down at his feet and then back up at the mostly nude blue haired detective, who had resumed slowly brushing his teeth. He turned, and headed back into the bathroom leaving Ichigo feeling flustered. Why was he feeling like this? Did he like guys? Was that why?

 _What are you, gay?_ He shook the words away. Who said that to him?

After a little while, Grimmjow came out of the bathroom in a pair of navy slacks and a white button up shirt. He draped a tie around his neck, but hadn't tied it. He slipped on a pair of loafers over black socked feet. He smiled at Ichigo as he reached up and grabbed the navy suit jacket and slipped it on. He then stood in front of the mirror, in which he could see the boy standing nervously behind him, still staring at the floor. It was going to be a long day, but he didn't have much choice but to take him with him. He quickly tied his tie, and then grabbed his laptop case from beside the bedroom door.

"Hey, ya coming?" he asked, breaking the orange haired kid out of his reverie.

Ichigo nodded and practically ran to his side, overwhelming fear of being left alone washing over him. Grimmjow didn't miss the action, but his thoughts were still on earlier, finding the kid bleeding in the bathtub. Then he didn’t seem to remember anything about the incident. He'd have to give that psych a call once he got to the office. Oh boy, the office. He wasn't sure how the kid was going to react to that. He hoped the day didn't end in disaster. At least he’d be surrounded by people who could keep an eye on him.

They were okay until the elevator. He stood outside it and refused to go in, shaking his head. No matter how he tried, he could not coax him into the elevator. Considering, Ichigo had taken it fine the day before, it was confusing to Grimmjow. Finally, tired of fighting, he took him to the stairs and walked down to the first floor. He took them through the corridors and checkpoints to come out in the main building. They came into the hallway and led the boy into large, open room filled with desks, activity and people. He felt the boy stiffen beside him, and he rushed him up the stairs into one of the empty conference rooms as quickly as he could.

"Okay, Ichigo, I want you to stay in here. I will be right out there, in the bull pen down there with the others. I brought some magazines from home," he said opening his laptop case and handing him a stack. "And if there's anything you want, just tell me. I'll come up in a few to check on you, okay?"

Ichigo nodded, taking the magazines, seeing an extremely wide variety, from hunting to fashion to cars, he thought he could entertain himself for a while. Grimmjow nodded, and headed out into the group waiting on him.

"Anything yet?" Rukia asked, leaning back against a desk. The other desks were occupied with the others that were on the Loving Hands bust.

Grimmjow sighed. "Unless you count him waking up screaming last night and me having to shoot him full of valium to get him back down, or me waking up to him sitting catatonic in the bathtub after scrubbing his skin raw, nah, nothin' yet."

No one said anything. "Well, let's start with what we do know," Rukia said softly.

The captain of the SWAT team was sitting in the chair next to where Rukia was leaning. The broad shouldered Ikkaku looked around before nodding. “So, the bust went clean. No problems, no hiccups there. The warrants were clean, and the four we’ve arrested can’t weasel out on any technicalities of the bust itself.”

Kira, the assistant director for drug enforcement nodded. “We found a lot of sedative and narcotic compounds on sight, but no Vermillion Rose. Now, the Vermillion Rose in the victim’s blood was highly concentrated and something that hasn’t been on the street yet.”

Rukia nodded, then looked at Nel as she walked up. “Nel, any new information on Ichigo’s attack?”

“No, there doesn’t seem to be any new information since Ichigo doesn’t seem to be able to tell us anything new yet,” she said as she leaned against the desk next to Grimmjow. She leaned against him and smiled at him. He nodded. “The hit is hot, though,” Nel continued. “They want him dead for whatever they think he might know.”

The morning meeting went on, several other issues with the case were discussed. Grimmjow wasn’t really paying attention because he was worried about Ichigo. He glanced up at the closed door to the conference room, hoping he was okay in there alone.

"Grimmjow!" he started and turned to see Rukia staring at him.

He cleared his throat. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I asked what your thoughts on getting any first-hand information out of Ichigo were," she said stiffly, not liking to lose her staff to daydreams in meetings.

Grimmjow shook his head. "I don't think he's capable to do much of anything right now."

"Okay, we'll have to wait the boy out, until then, we have to work circumstantial and try to get these guys on anything. I’m worried that this hit is still on him. We've got no hope of reaching Yahweh with any of this, but maybe we can bring down some of his lieutenants. We’re running out of time to act; two months is a long time for us to wait to put them in for this. Now, for now, let’s…"

She was interrupted by scream from above them and Grimmjow looked up to see Ichigo come bolting out of the conference room, running smack into the railing. He stopped, but his still weak muscles weren’t enough to stop his momentum and he went toppling over.

"Fuck!" was all Grimmjow managed before there was a blur of red and his coworker Renji, the assistant in white collar crime, managed to catch the kid before he hit the floor. He had to give Renji one thing, he had hella reflexes. But when the kid looked up and found himself in Renji's grasp he screamed and started kicking and punching madly until a very shocked Renji dropped him. Grimmjow was on the move though, intercepting the boy before he got any further. He looked up with absolute terror then realized who he was. He completely relaxed into him and started to whimper pitifully, almost sobbing into his chest. Renji was staring at him, and he looked up to see Captain Starrk from the organized crime division leaning over the rail and looking down.

Ichigo was nonsensical, muttering and completely panicking. He looked up at Starrk.

“Hey, grab one of the sedative syringes in the bag on the table, please,” he yelled up.

Starrk nodded, disappearing into the room and then trotting down the stairs to hand it to Grimmjow. Grimmjow looked at Renji and held it out. “Stick him in the ass, will ya? I don’t want to let him go to do it.”

Renji nodded, taking the syringe. He waited for Grimmjow to move both hands onto Ichigo’s hips and push the band of his pants down enough to uncover a patch of the upper part of his ass. Icihgo flinched and gasped when the needle pierced him, but then his eyes started to droop. Grimmjow guessed he was tired after fighting nightmares all night. His eyes fluttered and he fell limply forward into his grip. Grimmjow sighed, gathering him up and taking him upstairs to the front office that looked out over the bullpen that had the sofa in it.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Candice Catnipp found it easy to get into the hospital. It was a public place, after all. There was no issue finding the room, after all, she knew which one he would be in. She pulled her trench closed as she walked. She always had fun when she got to do something like this. She found the room, which was unfortunately close to the nurse station. She’d just have to be careful. She entered, finding the glass walls covered by the curtains. She went in and pulled the door shut behind her. She couldn’t lock it.

She saw two beds, both with the privacy curtaining closed on them. She fingered the syringe in her pocket again. It was just a heavy sedative, but if she had the chance to smuggle the fucking kid out she would. The big boss wanted him after all. She slipped into the first one and saw a crop of blond hair. She frowned. He had red hair, nearly orange from what they said. So this wasn’t him. She slipped out and found a very awake person with black hair.

“Who are you?” he exclaimed.

“Where’s the other guy that was here yesterday?” she demanded, her voice loud in the small room.

“What? Who? The one in the coma?”

“Yes, who else?” she growled.

The black-haired guy was no use, she decided so she pushed the curtain back and then pulled back the one on the second bed. This was the right room she knew. “Hey!” she said loudly.

The blond had been sleeping but now was awake and staring up. “What? Who…what do you want?”

“The one who was here. Where’d he go?” Candice demanded again.

He had vivid purple eyes and was just staring. “What are you stupid like the other one?” she asked loudly.

The door opened and a nurse was staring at her. “Hey, you, what are you doing here?”

Candice smirked and pushed her down as she ran past her. The nurse got to her feet and ran to the station. There was a commotion as they tried to figure out what was happening.

“Wonderweiss?” Shinobu asked. “Are you okay?”

“Sure, but what was that about…” the blonde-haired boy asked.

Seconds later, Uryū came into the room in a rush. “Shinobu, are you okay?” he asked as he came up and grabbed his hand.

“I’m fine, really. Just some weird lady looking for Ichigo. I’m glad you guys got him out of her so fast…what would she have done if he’d been here?” he asked.

“Was he in trouble?” Wonderweiss asked as he looked over at them.

Uryū kissed the back of Shinobu’s hand. “Something like that. I was so scared when they said someone who had come in and disturbed you here. I was worried.”

Shinobu smiled at him. “I’m fine, better when I get out of here.”

“Day after Tomorrow, okay? I’ve arranged a day off so I can take you home,” Uryū told him. “I’ve gotta go back to the ward, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Uryū left, leaving the two alone. Wonderweiss adjusted his blanket and looked over. “What are you in for anyway?” he asked, realizing that he hadn’t talked to his new roommate. He’d been asleep when he’d come in.

“I’m epileptic, and I had a bad episode. They bring you in when you’re in a seizure for half an hour,” he said with a sigh. “But more worry over the…other stuff.”

“Other stuff?” the violet eyed boy asked.

“I have weird hallucinations sometimes afterward while my brain’s still scrambled,” Shinobu said, rubbing the back of his hands. The back of both were still bandaged. “I chew the back of my hands during them sometimes. Really not fun.”

Wonderweiss nodded. “What do you see when you hallucinate?”

Shinobu smiled. “Memories, mostly. Blood. Fear made real. Nightmares that walk.”

“That’s…creepy,” Wonderweiss muttered.

“What about you, what are you in for as you put it?” Shinobu asked.

He sighed. “Frustrated with life, so I tried to disappear. That’s why I’m in an observation room, I guess,” he said, looking toward the nurses’ station. “I didn’t really want to die, you know, just look like it to get away from my parents. I’m nineteen but they fight and treat me like I’m ten. Didn’t work out as planned,” he said as he rubbed the light rope marks around his neck. “They think me being autistic is the end of the world, always have. But it isn’t. I’m fine with it; they’re the ones with the problem. I’m working with a counselor and an aunt of mine that got my guardianship. The counselor thinks I could become independent if I work at it; my parents didn’t think I could, so they messed up everything and wouldn’t let me do anything.”

Shinobu nodded. “Sometimes parents aren’t good people.”

“That’s so true,” Wonderweiss agreed.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow sat in the large office in the chair next to the sofa. Ichigo had been passed out for almost five hours, and he figured he’d wake up anytime now as the sedative cycled out of his body. The good thing was that Grimmjow had gotten most of his work done for the day while he was out. He’d been twitching and moving for the last half hour, so he figured he should stay and wait for him to wake up. He looked up as Rukia came into the room with Ukitake.

“Director,” Grimmjow said as he looked up. “Cap.”

“We’re going to have to be careful. I just got word that Catnipp was at the hospital looking for Ichigo,” Ukitake said softly.

“Catnipp?” Grimmjow said with a frown. “She’s not an assassin. She’s a snatcher. Are they trying to bring him in or kill him?”

Rukia shook her head. “I think it’s a game to them. The hit is still active, but it seems like they’re sending the best snatcher after him too. So I don’t know what’s happening.”

“He survived Vermillion Rose,” another voice said from behind them. Gin Ichimaru, Director of the drug trafficking division had walked up, hands tucked behind his back with his silver hair obscuring his eyes. He smiled. “I think that ya might expect Yahweh to wanna keep ya boy.”

“Keep him?” Grimmjow asked, frowning.

Gin came in and walked over toward him, brushing a hand over Ichigo’s head and looking at his face. The faint scars from the reconstructive surgery were visible. “Ya know well as I do that he’s fucked his own brain up. Wouldn’t be tha’ first time he’s tried to snatch a survivor of an overdose. That man is insane. He thinks he’s a god of some sort, y’know?” Gin said as he looked at them.

Rukia nodded. “But why the hit?”

“Well, if it is meant ta be, he thinks his snatchers will be faster. If not, then the assassins will be. Either way, problem solved,” Gin said with a shrug as he traced a finger over Ichigo’s lips. Grimmjow resisted the urge to punch the creepy snake bastard. He was so…off-putting.

Gin stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. “Either way, the boy knows something, whatever it was. Hope ya can keep him until we know what it is.”

Gin walked out smiling at Ukitake as he left. Ukitake watched him go then turned back. “He’s right,” the white-haired Director said before his eyes widened a bit. Grimmjow heard the wheeze from the other side of the room before he started to cough violently. Rukia stood up.

“Director!” Rukia exclaimed.

Ukitake put up a hand and dug an inhaler out of his pocket and managed two breaths in the middle of his coughing. “Fine, fine, but I’ll leave it to you, I’m leaving early today for an appointment with my respiratory therapist,” he said and turned and left. Grimmjow noted he leaned heavy on the railing as he took the steps slowly.

“He’s getting worse,” Grimmjow observed. Rukia looked back at him. “I get at least a call a day from Director Kyōraku. Are you good here with him?”

“Yeah, I’ll wait for him to wake, then take him back to the apartment,” he said. Rukia turned and left.

Grimmjow went to the mini-fridge under the desk and grabbed a couple cans of cola and opened one with a sigh and sat the other on the table beside him. He sat back down and waited. After a few minutes, Icihgo began to toss, then he slowly sat up and blinked sleepily at Grimmjow. When he saw him there he gave a soft smile. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was.

"Where am I now? I was reading…" he said, frowning, his bright orange brows knitting together in concentration.

He rubbed his ass where Renji had injected him absently. He looked thoughtful, but then didn't say anything he just turned back to Grimmjow and smiled again, seeing a second can of soda.

"Can I have one? I'm thirsty," he said hesitantly.

Grimmjow nodded and picked up the can, handing it to the kid without standing all the way up. He excitedly popped it open and began slurping down the sweet drink like he'd been stranded in the desert for a week.

"Hey, yer gonna choke if ya keep that up, Ichi."

He paused and looked at Grimmjow with a faraway look. "Ichi," he repeated. "She used to call me Ichi…"

Grimmjow leaned forward expectantly. "Who did, Ichi? Do you remember something?"

He looked over and tilted his head to the side. "Sunflowers and raindrops. She always smelt like sunflowers and raindrops. Her hair was black and short, and she always had a smile for me. I think she knocked my first tooth out, too."

Grimmjow frowned. What the fuck was sunflowers and raindrops? That didn't even make any sense! From the rest, it sounded like his friend Tatsuki.

"Does the name Tatsuki mean anything to you, Ichi?" he asked softly.

He turned his brown eye to him thoughtfully and shook his head. "No, only sunflowers and raindrops."

He then finished the soda and stood up to go look out the large glass windows that he could watch what was happening below. Grimmjow stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. He saw Nel looking through a file. He should talk to her before he left.

"Ichi, I'm going down there, over where that girl with the green hair is?" he said, pointing. "You can watch me the whole way, and I won't go anywhere else, okay?" Ichigo nodded and Grimmjow headed out down the stairs.

He glanced back up seeing that Ichigo's eyes didn't leave him for a second. Nel was frowning, an unusual site for her.

"Yeah, what’s up Nel?" Grimmjow said, crossing his arms and staring down at the tiny woman.

She frowned, the pulled a chair over and stood in it so she could look him in the eye. Grimmjow snorted. "So, you've got one hell of a delicate situation here."

Grimmjow sighed. "No shit, woman. I didn't ask for this. I'd much rather hand him over to you, but you see how that won't work?"

Nel nodded. She understood that this was a special case, even for them. "This is extreme, is this okay with his family and his doctors?"

"Director Unohana was the one that suggested it, and his father signed over full temporary guardianship to us considering his mental state. They felt it was the only viable option. They’re trying to kill or snatch him. He has to stay with us or other people will be in danger."

There was a sound of a suspect giving officers a hard time. He was loud and yelling. Grimmjow knew they were taking him to the temp lockup that was down past the bullpen, but then he heard the voice and he whipped around to recognize Bazz. He was flanked by two of the officers from Tactical, no doubt picked up in an arms bust they had today. Before he could say anything, he heard a terrified shriek from above him and he knew that Ichigo had seen him. It wasn't like when Starrk had tried to talk to him, or even when the nurses tried to take blood. No, this was a soul shattering sound.

“Shit!” Grimmjow said and locked eyes with Bazz. Everyone had stopped at the sound.

“Blue, good seeing ya again,” Bazz said with a sly grin. “Better go check on yer broken boyfriend. He’s probably remembering how many ways I fucked him. Or maybe he misses me? You think so?”

Grimmjow wanted to punch the smile off his face but instead he turned and headed for the stairs. “Get him the fuck out of here, have Nel go in to the interview him on the Kurosaki case!” he called out as they ushered the chuckling man with his flopped mohawk down the hallway.

Grimmjow then ran up the stairs nearly three at a time to find Ichigo pressed in the furthest corner from the great glass windows, rocking with his hands over his head, great gasping sobs falling from his mouth.

"No, no, no," he muttered between sobs. Grimmjow looked behind him and saw Starrk, Renji, and Rukia had run up behind him.

"Ichigo, come here, he’s gone, I promise, they took him away,” Grimmjow said as he reached for him.

Ichigo's eyes shot up and Grimmjow nearly fell back at the burning look he received. "Stay away from me, don't touch me!" he screamed, lashing out with a fist, narrowly missing Grimmjow's nose.

"Shit, Renji, Starrk, help me," Grimmjow said, glacing behind him at Renji and Starrk.

Ichigo started lashing out again, feet, fists, and teeth this time until between the three, Grimmjow had wrestled him into his arms. He looked up and locked eyes on Grimmjow, and briefly Grimmjow wondered if he should dose him with valium again. But he smiled at him, his body going lax and he breathed out.

“Oh, oh, goodnight, goodbye,” he muttered and his eyes rolled up into his head.

“Hey, hey!” Grimmjow said as he went completely limp. He patted his cheeks to find no response.

A few minutes later, one of the medical staff came and checked him over. Confirming he’d just passed out, they said best to just take him to the apartment until he woke up. Likely he’d lost consciousness due to shock. Grimmjow took him back, lying down in the bed beside him and hoping that he’d sleep through the night.

* * *

 


	4. Fracture

 

_He couldn't take it, not anymore. He didn't want to deal with this and now, he was going to refuse to deal with it for good. Seeing that face, that face he remembered so clearly in the darkness. That was all it took, and it would have happened sooner had he even seen a picture of his attacker. It was reactionary, really, to try and compartmentalize the psyche. There were pieces of Ichigo that were weak, and they needed to be sealed away so that they couldn’t be hurt any longer. They had to go away. That was all there was to it._

_So, that's what slowly happened. Fractures began to appear. And soon, standing on the mindscape, there were four figures standing in the rain. Despite the clouds, a bright orange sun beamed above them._

_Ichigo stood and stared at an image of himself in pure white with cold, demonic eyes. It was an image of destruction, of power, of sex. He smirked, and Ichigo felt the power he exuded. He was everything he’d ever denied of himself. He was everything that his heart had ever reached for. That, perhaps, was why he appeared as a copy of himself. He was his deepest, darkest desires._

_Shiro._

_Next a figure of a young, dark haired man. This was an image of refinement, of groundedness, of reality. He had a youthful face, eyes that were bright and bold. He wore a simple suit, a normal seeming person. He had desires, Ichigo knew, but they were tempered. They were grounded in what was realistically attainable._

_Tensa._

_Beside them stood an older man, still dark haired, but wearing wraparound sunglasses and a long coat. It was a figure of ideals, of learning, of everything he wanted to be. He was everything his father had ever taught him. He denied the pleasures of the self that the other aspect desired. There was no need for such impulses to this figure._

_Zangetsu._

_And then, he stood there, stripped naked and bleeding. This was all he was now. Nothing, and everything was going to die. Split down the middle into three parts, what was there left for him to be. He glanced down at his naked body and smiled. That was okay. He could just cease to exist. That would be fine._

_And which of the four would be the most powerful in the end? He had no idea. He felt the world fall and he collapsed._

Ichigo's eyes fluttered open and he sat up slowly. He felt refreshed, unafraid for the first time in days. He wondered why. He stretched his arms. He felt…he felt like having tea and reading a book. He wondered if there were any books in this place. So he got up and began rummaging through shelves and finally came across a book by Kant. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he could relax.

Grimmjow woke and found his charge curled into a chair, reading a book with a cup of tea, quite calm. He frowned at the sudden change in behavior from the day before. He'd gone from a mewling mess to a composed, refined image all of a sudden. This couldn't be good.

"Ichigo?" Grimmjow said, and the boy looked up slowly from his book. There was something different about him. His face, while still the same, wore a completely different expression.

Ichigo tilted his head to the side and frowned. "Grimmjow, is it?"

Grimmjow was slightly taken aback by the formality of the tone. "Yeah, Ichigo."

"Ichigo's not in at the moment, I'm afraid," he said, returning to his book.

"What the hell does that mean?" Grimmjow asked frowning and moving closer.

Ichigo arched his orange brows. "He's away. Call me Zan, short for Zangetsu. Pleased to meet you, and I do appreciate what you are trying to do for him. I'm afraid, though, that things are much too far gone now. But I do appreciate it."

Grimmjow watched as he resumed his book quietly, sipping his tea. Grimmjow walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone. "Dr. Ishida, can you make a house call, immediately?"

It didn't take long for the young doctor to arrive and assess the situation.

"You said he saw one of his attackers at the station yesterday face to face?" Uryū asked, still watching the young man read. When Grimmjow nodded he sighed. "I am assuming he's decided to assume a different identity, someone that it didn't happen to, sort of like the clichéd idea of multiple personality disorder. Keep an eye on him, and call with any changes. I'll have to contact his father and mine, unfortunately, to see if we can't get some idea on what to do here."

He watched as he left and then turned to find himself face to face with Ichigo who had snuck up behind him. "Hey, what's up?" he asked in surprise.

He face had changed, his eyes looking Grimmjow up and down. His eyes almost had a golden glint to them, and he grinned in a positively menacingly way.

"Imma gonna eatcha up if ya don't quit looking so good," he said and licked his lips seductively. Grimmjow took a step back, seeing the absolute lecherous gaze in his eyes.

"Ichigo, er, Zan? What's going on here?" he stammered.

"They're out at the moment, I just couldn't stand waitin' ta get ya to mahself," he said, practically purring. "I want ya to call me Shiro. Now, do ya wanna take this into yer bed or mine? Because I’ve been eyeing that tight body of yers since you were runnin’ ‘round in a towel showin’ off."

Grimmjow darted into the bathroom, grabbing the phone on the way with this Shiro hot on his tail. He locked himself in and frantically redialed the last number. The psychiatrist answered, a little annoyed since he'd just left.

"What is it now?"

"He's fuckin' different again!" he practically yelled into the phone.

There was a long pause. "How is he different? You mean a different personality or something?"

"Grimmjow!" came the call outside the door, loud enough that Uryū heard it over the phone. "Come on, just one lil' fuck, you can't say you don't want it…I'll rock yer world, ya sexy blue beast…"

"Oh, well, I can hear that…how long has he been like this?" Uryū said quickly.

Grimmjow groaned. "Since you walked out the damn door!"

"I'm not even to my car yet, I'll come back," Uryū said and hung up.

Grimmjow opened the door, hesitantly, not hearing anything, but as soon as he did he was tackled by the smaller man, pinning him to the floor with a wicked grin.

"Come play, Grimmy? I wanna…" he stopped when there was a loud knock from the door. He jumped up and ran for it, leaving Grimmjow flat on his back. Grimmjow got up in time to see "Shiro" pulling Uryū in with a wide grin.

"Oh you called another friend to play, Grimmy? Yummy, he's sweet. Ya gonna fuck me, too?" he said with wide, hopeful eyes.

Uryū frowned, and looked at Grimmjow. "He calls himself Shiro," he said, with a shrug.

"Shiro, sit down please," Uryū said, pushing him down on the couch.

He squirmed. "How can I sit down when I wanna strip ya both! I'll suck ya off, if ya want me too, bet ya'd like it too," he said reaching for Uryū's crotch.

Then he froze, blinking and moved back, a frown across his face, and crossed his legs and looked away. Uryū and Grimmjow exchanged looks. This time they’d both witnessed the switch.

"Who is here now?" Uryū said, and Ichigo turned and gave him a cool look. "Tensa," he said, then looked away.

Grimmjow was fascinated, having actually seen the change. "Where'd Shiro go?"

Tensa rolled his eyes. "Sex is all he thinks about, I tire of it. Well I suppose sex and violence, really. But who can blame him? I suppose I think about those things as well, considering the situation we're in. Zan won’t even think of those thoughts. He’s rather haughty about his ideals."

"We?" asked Uryū, jotting some notes.

"Of course, we. You don't think that we aren't aware of each other, do you?" Tensa said, sighing.

Grimmjow was a little worried. "Is Ichigo okay?"

Tensa rolled his eyes. "He doesn't have the inclination to speak right now. So, I will give you the information you need about the attack, as much as I am allowed to know. I have access to the reality of what has happened to us, as well as what is currently occurring."

A few minutes later, both Grimmjow and Uryū stood in the hallway while "Tensa" chose to watch the news.

"What is going on? There's three of them now!" Grimmjow said with a grimace.

The doctor sighed. "I'm not going to lie, here, Agent. I'm out of my league with this. I'm going to have to call in a specialist. This is far beyond simple 'defense mechanisms'. I'll contact Dr. Unohana and Dr. Kurosaki and see if they're agreeable to bringing in someone with less orthodox methods. Honestly, I would take advantage of Tensa's offer to help you with the case. Just be very careful. He can change at any moment, and it seems that the Shiro personality is highly aggressive."

With that, he left a very confused and worried Grimmjow. Okay, amnesia was bad enough, but splintered personalities? Shit.

Tensa stuck around and chatted about current events and such and it was agreed that the next day they would return to the office so he could fully fill out a report. Grimmjow wasn't looking forward to dealing with his coworkers and trying to explain this crap, but he would have to deal with it. The only question was whether Ichigo's testimony would be admissible considering his mental state. It would at least be worth holding the bastards for a few days, before their lawyers tore his statements to shreds.

Lunch went peacefully enough, and was quite enjoyable. Tensa seemed to be most concerned with current events and asked a lot of questions about Grimmjow’s job. Still, Grimmjow hoped that one day, Ichigo's personality came back in full so he could really get to know the kid.

“How long have you worked for Shinigami?” Tensa asked as he picked at his food. He seemed to eat normally, but appeared distracted.

“Ah, not long. I mean, I am only twenty-three myself, so I went from high school to the academy. Well, it wasn’t my idea. I had to either go there or jail. I got myself in trouble with the Shinigami when I was a teenager, and they gave me the offer to work for them. So, I took it. They put me through testing, and I thought sure they’d put me in tactical. Instead they said I was a perfect fit for sex crimes,” he said with a shrug as he ate his own food. He’d made spaghetti for them. Tensa seemed reluctant but eventually ate it all. “So I’ve been working for them since I was twenty after I did two years in their academy.”

Tensa nodded and held up Ichigo’s right hand that had been mangled. The surgery scars were still red colored where they had healed over. He flexed it. “This hand won’t be able to follow our dream any longer. I am unsure where we will go now. Surgery is out of the question. I can’t feel the tips of the fingers well. I suppose that is just as well.”

Grimmjow felt the weight of that. To have a dream shattered so completely…it wouldn’t be easy.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Are you going home today too?” Wonderweiss asked as he put away his own clothes.

“Yeah, Uryū’s taking me home in a little while. He had a house call on that guy that was in here with us, but he’s headed this way. Is your aunt coming to get you?” Shinobu asked.

“Yeah, she owns this dance club, the Tiberon. She lives above it, and has an extra room,” Wonderweiss explained. “She is a good person, I just hope she isn’t going to treat me like a kid too. So, annoying. I’m in my twenties not twelve,” he muttered as there was a knock at the door.  

Uryū was standing there with a trio of people. One was a tall, buxom woman with darker skin and yellow blonde hair. The man with him was a sleepy looking man with wavy brown hair. With them was a short teenage girl with lime green hair.

“Just a second, Shinobu, I wanted to talk to them before they leave,” he said with a smirk at his partner.

Wonderweiss sighed, looking at them. “You all didn’t need to come,” he commented.

“I asked them to come,” Uryū said getting a glare from Wonderweiss. “Your aunt Tier and I have spoken at length about the situation, and I wanted to meet the others in your new family. Cayote, right?”

“Yes, Cayote Starrk, and this is my daughter Lilynette. We read over what you sent home Tier. I think we understand the situation,” Starrk said with a smile.

Lilynette walked up and looked at Wonderweiss. “You better not go in my room. I don’t need nosy older brothers, you know.”

With that, she turned and sat down by the door. Hallibel sighed. “She is almost sixteen. Strong willed is an understatement. I believe we are prepared to meet Wondweiss’s needs where my sister could not. She was always worried about perfection. It would seem such a thing has backfired on her. Children are not perfect creatures.”

“You know, I’m not a child,” Wonderweiss said with a glare as he shoved the last of the books he’d had with him in the bag.

Starrk smirked. “Of course not, you are nineteen. I think that helping out around the club will be a good thing for you to do, and if you enjoy anything in particular, I’m sure that we can find classes for you.”

Wonderweiss narrowed his eyes at him. “Classes? Like school? Mother said I wasn’t going to pass anything.”

“I’m sure she was wrong about that by quite a bit,” Hallibel said. “I thought we could stop at a home store and you could choose some things for your new bedroom. I don’t have it decorated, I was going to leave that to you.”

Wonderweiss, though still suspicious nodded. “Alright. Um, by Shinobu!” he said as he waved to the other man in his room.

“Bye!” Shinobu called as Uryū watched them leave. He looked at him as he slid out of the bed to gather his own belongings. “You think they’ll be good for him?” he asked.

“I do. They are completely opposite of what his real parents were like. He should do well. But I’ve taken the rest of the day off so we can get you settled back at home,” Uryū said as he picked up his bag.

“Alright.” Shinobu interlocked arms with Uryū as they walked out of the room. “How’s your patient you’re doing housecalls on?” he asked.

Uryū sighed. “Oh, I expect to be doing a lot of them. Seems like there’s been a more complex thing with his mental state, but hopefully time will fix it.”

They got into the car, but neither of them noticed that as Uryū pulled out to head home that they were being followed.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

The next morning Grimmjow was having a highly arousing dream. Someone, who he couldn't see, was proceeding to give him the most amazing morning blow job he'd ever had. He moaned and writhed as a skilled tongue lavishly worshiped at his straining member and he was thinking when he woke up he was going to have to take an extra-long shower after this pleasant dream. Then he fluttered his eyes open and realized he wasn't asleep, and going down on him was a furiously bobbing orange head of hair. He blinked for a minute then a wave of pleasure seared through him and he couldn't hold back his orgasm, arching his back into the warm, hot mouth that lapped and licked him as he came.

"Holy fuck, what are you doing?" he breathed as the orange haired brat picked up his head, lavishly swirling his tongue around his flaccid member, apparently trying to revive it.

"Um, what's it look like ta ya? Ya got a nice piece, care to see how it fits in me? I want ya to fuck me into the sheets all day, blue-baby," he said, a positively sinful look on his face. “I’d like to let ya take my virgin ass, but well, that won’t be happening. Got that stolen…”

It didn't take long for Grimmjow to scramble back, tucking himself quickly back into his pants. He wasn't sure how to feel about actually being molested in his sleep by his sexually assaulted charge. How the fuck was he going to explain this one? Not that he really minded, he'd had the thought cross his mind more than once, but this wasn't really Ichigo, this was…something else. Wait, didn’t this count as nonconsensual since he was asleep? For some reason that creeped him out a bit. He couldn’t help it, though, he told himself.

Shiro head dropped then, and when it rose again he tilted his head to the side in a thoughtful way. "The decidedly wanton nature of Shiro is certainly going to grate on my nerves," Zan said with a sigh and stood up. "I'm using your toothbrush. My mouth tastes disgusting."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Grimmjow said, grabbing the phone and dialing Uryū.

"Detective?" he said sleepily. "Is there a problem?"

Grimmjow stalked into the living room and watched as Ichigo disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door. "Yes there's a fuckin' problem, I woke up to him giving me a blow job in my sleep!"

He heard the other man clearing his throat. "Well, it seems that the Shiro personality is highly pleasure driven, so I'm not surprised."

"What the fuck am I gonna do? I can't have him jumping me every morning like that! Should someone else take him in until he gets…normal again?"

"That wouldn't be a good idea. Remember, it is still Ichigo, and the only one he really trusts is you. If he were to come to himself again in and be with someone else, the damage might be irreparable. I'm afraid, detective, you'll just have to deal with it. My advice is to attempt to reason with Shiro so that he does not assault you in your sleep. And make sure you report it at the office."

There was a soft click as the call was ended. Grimmjow stared at the phone in disbelief. "Deal with it?" he grumbled, putting the phone down.

A few minutes later, Zan came out of the bathroom wiping his mouth and still looking disgusted. He went to the bookcase and grabbed something and sat down at the window to read. Grimmjow headed into the bathroom and took a long shower. He was going to eat as well before heading in and trying to explain the newest development to the team.

He came out to find Ichigo dressed and staring out the window. He turned when Grimmjow entered, putting his tie on.

"I am deeply sorry for what Shiro did. I'm afraid he is hard to control right now. The desires of the flesh are new to him, and it seems that he is intent on sampling all that he can," Ichigo now said.

"All right…" he trailed of and looked at him.

"Zan," he said nodding and followed him.

Great. He needed Tensa, not Zan. But as long as it wasn't Shiro, they might be okay. Damn this was getting confusing. He went and quickly made them some eggs for breakfast and then took him in with him. As he walked, Ichigo followed, hands folded behind his back, eyes astute to everything around him. He entered the elevator without a word and watched as they moved up the floors.

They exited out and everyone on the floor hushed and looked up at them as they entered. Ichigo was calm, collected and looked thoughtful, while Grimmjow was completely wild looking. He hadn’t even brushed down his hair this morning or anything.

"You, go up there to the front office, until I come get you," he said. Ichigo nodded with a sigh.

"Are there at least some books up there I can pursue besides the inane magazines I was reading yesterday?" he said with a haughty tone. "I now wish I had bought the Kant with me. But I think I remember seeing a volume by St. Augustine on the shelf up there."

With that he wandered up the stairs, leaving everyone in complete shock. Grimmjow flopped down against the desk, dropping his head in his hands. Pretty soon, most the team including Rukia had come out.

"Is he better?" Rukia asked, glancing up to see Ichigo curled on the couch in the upstairs conference room reading quietly.

Grimmjow looked up. "No, he's fuckin' worse than ever."

Starrk and Nel had come up by now. "But he seems almost normal, not clinging to you or freaking out?"

"Just wait. I give it about fifteen minutes if I don't miss my guess, and you'll see. Just fuckin' wait and you'll see what I'm talkin' about."

Everyone turned to look up as they heard a giggle from upstairs and then saw Ichigo drop the book and come positively running down out of the room. He smiled manically at them as he leaped up on the desk behind Grimmjow and practically jumped on his shoulders in a leapfrogging motion. Everyone took a step back as Grimmjow grimaced.

"Fuck, ya brought me to have some fun wit ya friends? Can I blow him? He's pretty," he said staring at Renji as he walked up with a lecherous grim, as if he was already devouring him. Renji's eyes widened.

"Shiro…" Grimmjow grunted. Shiro leaned over, still situated on his shoulders.

"Don't get jealous, blue-baby. You'll be my favorite blow," he said and cackled, shifting and sliding down his front in a way similar to a stripper moving down a pole. He then jumped on the desk in a leap and kneeled looking down at Toshiro.

"Ooh, I like him. Yer a pretty little thing. Ya are a boy, right? Doesn't matter, I'd lick ya up and down either way." Then just as quick he jumped off the desk and was staring at Rukia who had an absolutely baffled expression. "What's tha look, sugar? You mad I'm talking about yer boys and not you? I wouldn't mind giving yer little sweet body some attention too…"

He grinned as Rukia stared daggers at him and sauntered around the desks then grinned at them all. "Ah man, I wanna get one of ya son of a bitches to fuck me, come on…Grimm won't do it"

Then just as suddenly he stopped, his entire posture changed and he turned and looked at them with a calm look now.

"Detective, are we going to do the report you wanted now?" he said evenly.

Grimm looked up and sighed. "Tensa, thank gods. Shiro was getting out of hand."

He shrugged. "I can't tell when he will come back, but you have me for now. I suggest you not waste time fretting over Shiro's actions."

"Okay, um, why don't you wait up there in the office again, okay Tensa?" Grimmjow said, feeling the stares of the others boring into him. They all watched as he ascended the stairs.

"What was that?" Rukia said.

"Dr. Ishida says his personality has fractured. He's got three that I can tell. He's named them Tensa, Zangetsu and Shiro. And they come and go, and since then I haven't seen the real Ichigo," Grimmjow said with a sigh. "It wouldn't be so bad except fuckin' Shiro's a sex fiend. I woke up this morning to him blowing me in my sleep."

There was a collective gasp. "Then he shouldn't stay with you…" Rukia began.

"Already tried that route. Ishida says if we change his situation, if the real Ichigo surfaces, the damage might be permanent. He's still in there. For now, all I can do is keep trying to get him to come back, and try to keep Shiro off my dick."

The silence was a little much, but no one knew what to say.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

They were set up in the interrogation room so they could record the coming statements. Rukia, Nel, and Grimmjow sat across from him. He still sat with the straight back.

“Alright, Ichigo,” Rukia began as she started the equipment.

"Tensa,” he corrected. "Ichigo is not currently present."

Rukia cleared her throat. "Okay, Tensa, can you please give your account of the night in question? I know a couple months have passed, but if you could give your account as close as you can."

He glanced at the recording equipment. "You realize that this is most likely inadmissible due to the state of mind we are in now. Even Tatsuki could take apart this statement and she has only just been admitted to Harvard Law."

"We are aware; however, we need something on record, and we may be able to work with Dr. Ishida to help things go our way," Rukia responded.

"If that is what you wish," Tensa said, sipping a cup of tea, two sugars, one cream. "There were three males at the club attempting to take flirt with the girls." In front of him were the photos of the Wandenreicht. He pushed forward the photos of Discol, Bazz B, and Nodt.  "These were there. I deterred them by dancing with the girls at various times. I drank club sodas all night. The bartender was Franceska. She works there all the time."

Rukia glanced through the notes. "Franceska confirms that you ordered drinks for your friends, but you always chose the designated driver wrist band when you came in, and he says you never once sipped at your friend's drinks, only the sodas."

"Correct."

"Okay, now the rest of the night?" Rukia said.

Tensa nodded, sipping the drink again. “Mizho left with her brother, as we’d come in her car. She took Tatasuki and Honsho home. I decided to walk Orihime home since her apartment was just a couple blocks over. As we were walking, we were attacked by the three from the club. They said they wanted Orihime. I tried to attack them so she could get away and they hit me with something. When I woke up, I was tied up and unable to see. They were talking about someone named Quilge was coming to pick her up to sell her. They told a woman that they were going to punish me for interfering. The one without lips, Nodt I believe said that they werne’t allowed to ‘fuck the girls’ because they were too rough.” Tensa paused, thinking.

He looked thoughtful. "I'm afraid things begin to get fuzzy at this point in my memory. But I will tell you what images I have retained. They put a pill in my mouth and forced it down with water. Things began to go weird and blurred at this point. I recall being taken to a room but then…it got dark for a little while.”

Tensa was swirling the cup. "At this point Ichigo's preventing me full access to the memories," he said thoughtfully, looking now out the window. "I will attempt to break into those memories, however, understand that I may be forced out of control when I do so, but I am not sure who will take over from there."

The three waited patiently. This was not the point to push him. He looked up. "The darkness was there, for a long time, and I think I remember when it broke, shattering into a million suns when they threw my head into the wall. There was a lot of blood running down my throat, I remember that, and it made me even sicker. The pain was explosive, of the bone shattering in my cheek. With that pain came a certain clarity. The fog was lifted, and I knew that I was being attacked by someone. In my head, my body was responding like I have trained it to, reaching back, using the attacker's own momentum to swing them around in an effective throw. I've done it so many times, it should be instinct, and most the time it is. Second degree blackbelts don't come easy. I've had my nose broken before, but this was worse."

He looked upward again, searching the memories. And it was strange to hear him talk and see not an ounce of pain or distress on his features. "He had me pinned to the wall with a hand on my neck, the other on my wrists. He asked me something about what I had in my pants to get three girls on me all night. I was confused. Then he slammed my head into the wall again, I think, or maybe that was the first time. The order in my head is unsure. I tried to talk, everything in my head was planned out, but when I spoke it came out a garbled mess. I tried to say that they were not with me like that. He didn't believe me. Claimed I had 'cockblocked' him and his friends, I believe was the term he used. He seemed very flustered. Something about fear being enjoyable was in there."

A look passed over his face, and they wondered if their time was up with Tensa but he shook his head. "He asked why I was not having sex with them, then asked if I was gay. I couldn't form the words to explain that it wasn't like that either He reached in front of me where I was pinned to grab me and I remember my mind exploding in reaction, seeming to finally get what was happening. He then asked what was to be done about his 'needs' since I interfered with him attempting relations with Tatsuki. At that point one of the others indicating have 'fun' and the other asked if it was a good idea since he thought he overdosed me, indicating that if he did I would not scream to his liking."

"Yeah, they had drugged you with a new synthetic drug called Vermillion Rose, and had indeed overdosed you, the almost lost you in the ER because of it," Rukia said glancing at the ER report. It had been close. This stuff was nasty. That alone would have been something that killed most people.

"I remember being tossed to the ground, and somehow caught myself with my hands, keeping my face out of the cement and the ground smelled horrible. Then I remember falling forward, hitting my forehead as they pulled away the clothes from my lower body. I looked up to blinding sunshine, brilliant but it isn’t a sun, a person, but I can’t see him. The blood was choking me as it rand down my throat and he commented on how he hadn't started yet on my mouth, and put a hand over it, kneeling down beside me. Then someone, I'm not sure which one, entered me and I remembered screaming because I thought I was going to die. He said I was moving too much and grabbed my right wrist and pulled. I remember the sound as those bones shattered from the twisting, and felt my shoulder pop out of place.

"Then one took the opportunity to utilize my mouth. I couldn't scream, and pain was shooting through my face, almost eclipsing that in the rest of my body. Then they took their own turns finishing themselves. He had a knife, too, and as he was over me, I felt him cut into my back, and sometimes he'd lean over and use it on my chest. Everything was so hazy, though. There was something, somewhere in there, burning that was poured into my mouth and elsewhere. It was the sun that did it, I know that. The sunshine was so bright. Wait…” He paused. “The bright one shot me, I know that. I remember the blood pouring out of my guts, but it didn’t stop them. It is all so disjointed. I remember one shoving me to the ground after saying something again and I heard the flicking of that knife. I hadn't seen it but I knew a butterfly knife by sound. But it was raining, and I can’t tell you why or how, since we were inside a storeroom," he said looked around, his gaze completely impassive as he met the wide-eyed gazes of the detectives.

"Then I remember it being dark, and I looked up to see blue, and that was all until I woke up in the hospital," he finished and took a long drink of his teacup.

As soon as he did, his eyes went wide and he spit the tea. Luckily, he was facing away from the table and managed to spit it on the floor beside him.

"The fuck, man?" he muttered staring at the cup. "Fuckin' Tensa could at least put some more sugar in this shit, that's nasty."

He looked up at the surprised expressions of the detectives and gave them a smirk. "Fuck, you guys should be used to this shit by now. Ichigo's not happy with fuckin' Tensa. He might not come out for a while. But what the fuck ever, man ya got what ya wanted, yeah?"

Grimmjow leaned forward. "Shiro, is there anything you want to add to what Tensa said?"

"Get me some goddamned tea with lots of sugar and maybe."

A moment later, a fresh cup was poured, complete with six cubes of sugar. He smiled and sipped it as though it was great. "Fuckin' Tensa man, how can he drink this without enough sugar? And with milk, blah. The sugar is the best damn part!"

"Shiro, you and Tensa are both the same person, how can one of you like tea with lots of sugar and the other like tea with a little sugar and milk?" Rukia asked.

He smiled. "Well, how could one of us hate the idea of being fucked by those guys and another one kinda get off on it, eh?"

There was a silence. "Well, I woulda rather it happened different, the fuckin' pain I could do without," he said rolling his eyes. "I mean, who the fuck wants their fucking pelvis broken for a fuck? Or have nothing out it in the end? I ain't something, like they wanted to use me as, even if I did want Ichigo to stop being so fuckin' prudish and admit he wanted to have a man in his life."

Rukia hesitated, wondering if she should stop recording, but opted not to. "So you're saying that Ichigo is gay, not asexual as his father and friends believed?"

Shiro drank the tea. The frowned at it as though it had offended him. "Do you happen to have another cup?"

They looked at each other, noting the change again. "Yeah, how ya take it?" Grimmjow asked.

"Plain, please."

Grimmjow sat the cup down and looked at him. "Zangetsu?" he said softly.

He looked up and nodded. "Yes, I was tired of Shiro. And Tensa has been prohibited at the moment from taking over."

Rukia cleared her throat. "Zangetsu, is there anything you can tell us?"

He looked thoughtful for a long moment. "Ichigo is indeed of the preference of men, but I believe the term is demi-sexual. He is only attracted to someone he has become attached to already. He is naturally a submissive personality, even though he has never really admitted it. He prefers to hang around his female friends because all four are aggressive and he can be around them and be safe, unlike with more aggressive males. He does not understand this, however, as he just assumes he has no sexual preference, even to the point he has never performed self-gratification."

Renji and Grimmjow exchanged looks. "The kid's never jerked off?" Grimmjow muttered, thinking back to the kid giving him a blow job that was better than most hookers he'd seen in his day.

"No, but he has explored sexual activities, though through a clinical eye. He knows human sexuality; after all, his purpose was to become a doctor. In doing so, he has pursued clinical journals, pornographic videos and magazines, as well as spent some time with a sex therapist as an intern to study it. He considered his lack of sexual desire deviancy, and part of him wanted to understand it. He could never identify the cause of his asexual nature, but found sexuality on the whole intriguing. He was considering becoming a fertility specialist to help families with sexual dysfunction and therapy if surgery didn’t work out as he liked. Considering he had no real feelings about sex, he thought it would be a good place to be, knowing there would never be a sexual attraction to his patients," Zan said, carefully sipping his tea.

Rukia sighed. "Okay, I think that's enough for today. I'll let Grimmjow take you home so you can eat and get some rest. Zan, is there any way to keep Shiro from…um…well…" she began.

"Keep him from performing fellatio on Agent Jaegerjaquez without his permission?" he finished.

Rukia and Grimmjow both blushed. "Yeah, that would be good, I really don't want to traumatize Ichigo any further," he said.

"I will attempt to keep him at bay, but I cannot promise. Sometimes those urges are very strong since Ichigo has never given into them before, or even recognized them for what they are," he said, finishing his tea.

Grimmjow sighed and stood. "Okay, let's go then, Zan."

They headed out to the car, neither noticing a man following their every moment with a long-range camera. Pictures were snapped, then as the blue car pulled out, not far off it was followed by a non-descript black one.

* * *


	5. Sacrificial Sunshine

Yahweh was an eternally patient man. If he wasn't, the men before him would have been dead years ago. He sat back in his "throne" room as he called it. It was a huge study in his mansion, and his desk chair was perhaps the most expensive and beautiful creation of soft, supple leather that could be found. All around him, walls lined with books and leather-bound tomes gave him the feeling of being enclosed by knowledge. And if there was something that this dark-haired man liked, it was knowledge. He was a god among men, after all. Knowledge elevated him to higher standards. Still, the boy was under heavy guard and he couldn’t get to him. The hit squads had failed, and his best snatcher, Candice Catnipp couldn’t get to him.

“We know where the psychiatrist is. I figure, even if he don’t remember his own family, he’ll remember that guy,” Candice said with a smirk. “So we snatch him instead, use him as a way to lure you godling out, and then you can have your little fuck bunny.”

Yahweh glared at her. “Do not be so vulgar. His status is yet to be determined further than getting him here. Take Driscoll with you. You best bring the doctor back.”

She stood and mock saluted him. “Yessir!” she snapped and headed out the door to find the big and beastly Driscoll.

About half an hour later they sat in front of an apartment complex and looked up at it. “This is the place,” Candice said as she stepped out. “Let’s grab him and get the hell out of here.”

Driscoll nodded, growling a bit. Catching wasn’t his thing. He was here as the muscle, though. He trudged into the place and then into the elevator following Candice. As they headed up she looked over at him. “So, why the hell did you guys end up fucking that guy at the Loving Touch anyway? Are you gay or something?”

“No,” he growled. “Ain’t like that. Just nice to let go of the violent urges without caring what happens, y’know?” he said with a shrug.

Candice frowned. “Maybe I should do that, get a strap on and fuck someone up,” she muttered as she stepped out of the elevator and headed to number 5C. She smiled sweetly and knocked on the door.

“Coming,” came a voice from inside.

Candice stepped back, after someone checked the peephole. Driscoll stepped closer and as soon as the door opened, he slammed the door hard, knocking someone prone with a yelp. Candice followed him, closing the door behind her. The guy on the floor looked shocked, a thin man with short black hair and silver framed glasses. From another room, another man came out with dark hair pulled back at his neck.

The one on the floor yelled at him. “Shinobu, go back in the bedroom!”

“You must be the shrink, eh?” Candice said as she stepped forward and pulled Uryū to his feet. “So, you can come quietly, or we can make this difficult. Which is it?”

Uryū frowned. “What?”

“You’re being abducted, so cooperate, will ya?” she said and her grip on his wrist tightened.

It was Shinobu that tried to react, running forward toward her. Unfortgunately, Driscoll stepped forward and slammed a hand into the thinner man’s chest, knocking him to the floor. Uryū gasped, but before he could say anything, Shinobu was back up and flew into Driscoll’s face in a full on rage. This was bad, he thought to himself. It would take days for him to recover after this. He tried yelling at him but he jerked as Candice handcuffed him. He yanked at them and tried to yell at Shinobu to stop. She grabbed his hair and covered his mouth with her hand and shushed in his ear as he watched Shinobu finally seem to get Driscoll’s hand in. He wanted to tell him to stop, but too late, Shinobu bit down on his fingers.

Driscoll did yell then and yanked his right hand, punching with his left. It sent Shinobu flying into the wall with a thump. He slid down, unmoving. Driscoll was bleeding, and he turned to Candice.

“Fucker bit my goddamn finger off!” he said, holding up his right hand which was missing the end of his index finger.

“Ah, you’ll live, come on,” she said and drug Uryū toward the door.

“Stop, please, let me check on him…he could be…”

Uryū didn’t finish because Driscoll slammed the heel of his hand into the back of Uryū’s head. He crumpled, nearly pulling Candice to the floor with him. She sighed and rolled her eyes at him. “Warn me next time; you carry him.”

She stepped over him to open the door as Driscoll picked him up. Together they took the elevator down, seeing no one on the route. It was mid-afternoon, so it wasn’t a busy time of day for people coming and going.  Driscoll dumped Uryū into the trunk and they headed back to the office building. After they pulled into the underground garage, Driscoll retrieved the still unconscious Uryū and hefted him over his shoulder. He’d wrapped his bleeding hand in a strip from his t-shirt. This time, though, they ended up taking the elevator to the basement.

This room looked like a god built a monument to himself, which was exactly what had occurred. The place was full of various “treasures” that Yahweh had collected. There were stolen artworks from various heists, rare pieces of jewelry, and incredibly rare and hard to find books in glass cases. Candice and Driscoll walked with Uryū through the display of wealth into the “throne room”. Here, a round room had a fancy “throne” in the center. It set upon a two-step high pedestal so it was just higher than everything around it. Yahweh sat on his throne waiting for them to return. He smiled as Driscoll dumped Uryū unceremoniously onto the floor before the seat.

For Uryū, coming to consciousness after that kind of hit to the head was tougher than he expected. He woke up and was staring at stairs and a pair of feet in black colored loafer shoes. He almost had his bearings when someone grabbed the back of his hair and yanked him up to a sitting position. He realized his hands had been released from the handcuffs. Maybe if he could get his wits about him he could fight.

“Look upon your new god,” Candice said from where she knelt beside him. “He wants to say hello.”

“God?” Uryū asked, blinking away the fuzziness at the edge of his mind.

“Yes, I am a god among men, so welcome. I do apologize for kidnapping you. You really hold no interest for me as more than a pawn in this game. I’ve decided I want the boy who survived Vermillion Rose. He, too, must be a god among men. So I will have him.”

“Ichigo?” Uryū said, brown crinkling. “Ichigo’s mental state is fragile.”

“Yes, of course it is. It took a long time for me to recover from Vermillion Rose as well. But recover he will, and he will be mine. By choice of course. I can’t force a person to stay at my side. So, he’ll choose to stand here. Or I’ll murder you. And your boyfriend. And many others,” the black-haired man said with a smirk. “I am Yahweh.”

“Yahweh?” Uryū asked. “That’s presumptuous,” he muttered to himself. “I don’t know what you want from me.”

“You?” Yahweh asked. “Nothing. You will be confined to a cell, with no food or water. Agent Jaegerjaquez and the Shinigami can choose to hand Ichigo over to me, or they can watch you die a very slow, and very painful death. Take him to the third cell, Driscoll, then go have someone take a look at your hand.”

Uryū gasped as he was drug to his feet. “No, please, let me…”

Candice walked in front of them and then touched a blank portion of the wall. The wall slid back revealing a barred door and a small five by five cell. There was nothing in it except a drain in the center. Driscoll shoved him forward and slammed the bars closed. Uryū scrambled to his feet in time to see them close the outer door. He rattled the bars and screamed until he could scream no more. He slid down the bars to his knees and wondered if Shinobu was okay. The thought brought tears to his eyes.

Outside, Candice returned to Yahweh while Driscoll went to find someone to dress his wounds. Besides the missing finger, he had scratches and cuts all over his face and neck. She smirked. That boy had been a wildcat. She hoped he wasn’t dead.

“So, boss. What’s the plan now?” she asked as he watched her with a bemused grin. He had the file that had been compiled by Candice over the last few days. 

“I get the boy.”

Smiling, he opened the boy’s file. Even after Nödt and the others had beat him, there was something in those eyes that sent a thrill up his spine. Yahweh never took on things that didn't intrigue him, but this boy intrigued him. Smart, protective, and now to protect himself, his personality had split into three others? He fingered the file photos showing the kid at different stages. Here, clinging to the blue haired detective. Here, reading a book with a different look about him. And here, most interestingly, crouched on top of a desk, staring down at the white-haired man at the station, tongue lolling to the side, and leering at him. He smirked. Yes, he did love a challenge.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Once again, Grimmjow had dinner with one of the Ichigo's selves. He was beginning to notice some distinct preferences in what they liked to do, eat, and drink. The day had been rather uneventful, which was a good thing. Granted, there was dealing with the different aspects of Ichigo’s personality that was always a challenge.

Shiro wanted sweets all the time, doughnuts, cake, sweetened rice, sodas, really anything that had a sugar content. Meanwhile, Tensa preferred more sensible foods, choosing salads, water or tea, and other things like that. Zangetsu barely ate, and definitely didn't eat for pleasure. He would often note the rumbling in his stomach and eat whatever was at hand. Shiro loved alcohol, in fact, Grimmjow had to hide his spirits quickly before the fiend got into them. Tensa would drink politely, and Zan ignored alcohol altogether. Then what they liked to do was a sure indication of who was in charge. He'd find Zangetsu curled with a philosophy or ancient history book, while Tensa would be engrossed in the TV watching news and cooking shows. Shiro on the other hand would complain loudly that there was no free porn on the TV, then go about searching for Grimmjow's "girly mags" that didn't exist. He often got bored quickly and would let one of the others take over.

When dinner was done, he took off to his bedroom for the night leaving Grimmjow with the TV and a lot to think about.

As expected, when they took the tape to the prosecutor he nearly laughed him out of the room. They were not going to take the statement of an obviously mentally ill victim, and unless he could be cleared by the state psychiatrist, no statement could be officially used in the trial. However, the statement was valid for what had been done to his mental state and used to support the case. But they couldn't go arrest the three guys he pointed out. It was all so frustrating, and he just wanted to shake the kid and meld him back together, but he knew it wouldn't work. It was all tiring. And so it was that he fell asleep on the couch in the front of the room, head tossed back over the couch back, legs sprawled and snoring rather loudly when the phone rang.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

An hour later, Grimmjow stood in the bullpen with Ichigo sitting on one of the desks, legs swinging over the side. Shiro had been there when he dragged Ichigo out of bed.

Rukia looked sleep as she sighed. “So, we have Shinobu, Dr. Ishida’s partner, at Shinigami medical. He’s not hurt badly, bumps and bruises. He managed to take part of Driscoll’s finger with him, so we’ve got a confirmed print, and link to Dr. Ishida’s kidnapping. We just have to find him now…”

They were interrupted when Starrk walked up and handed a file to Rukia. “What’s this?” she muttered. “Oh…” she said.

“What is it?” Grimmjow asked, afraid to ask.

“Yahweh demands that we exchange Ichigo for Dr. Ishida. Otherwise, he says we have perhaps three days, depending on how long we think Dr. Ishida can go without food or water…” she said, looking up at Grimmjow.

“I’ll go,” Ichigo said meekly. Grimmjow turned and thought it sounded like Tensa. “He wants us for whatever reason. It won’t do to sacrifice another for us.”

“No, we don’t negotiate with people like this, ever. That’s not even on the table,” Rukia said. She was about to continue when the phone rang beside her.

“Kuchiki. What? He’s here, just a second. Captain Starrk,” she said and handed the phone over.

Starrk frowned and took the phone, listening intently. “I’ll be right there.” He gave her the phone back. “There was a drive by at the Tiberon. Harribel, Lilynette, Wonderweiss and three of the girls that work there are being brought to Shinigami medical. No one is seriously injured, but Harribel took a bullet to the leg,” he said as he took off to check on his partner and daughter.

Ichigo looked at them. “I told you to let me go to them.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Bazz had been surprised when he got sprung from the Shinigami, but it had been fun to frighten that brat they’d had their way with. As soon as he got back to his place, though. His phone rang. It was Askin Nakk Le Vaar, one of the men that worked with him.

“Yo, man.”

“Hey, wanna come drive by that club? Boss said he wanted to scare the shit out of those fuckers. Turns out that bitch that owns the place is seeing a captain in the Shinigami, and her nephew shared a room with that fucker that bit Driscoll’s finger off.”

Bazz frowned. “No, he got his finger bit off?” he said then laughed. “Yeah pick me up. Been wanting to spray some lead.”

An hour later, he got into the car with him. Askin handed him an auto and he smirked. “I haven’t done this in forever. Feels good.” Both took a second to put in earplugs. Shooting an automatic in close confines was a recipe for deafness if they weren’t careful.

They came to the building and Bazz held the gun in the window as they slowed down. He began firing. It was almost three am, so the club was empty of all but those that worked there. He could hear screaming and he guessed he’d hit someone. He laughed and kept firing until he couldn’t hit it any longer. Askin then peeled out and they headed toward Yahweh’s compound to report.

Inside the Tiberon, Harribel had been hit by the first rounds as she cleared off a table near the front of the room. Apacci had pulled her toward the bar and the three had huddled together behind it to avoid any other bullets. When the firing stopped, they called the police and the Shinigami. Harribel was taken away in an ambulance, and the Shinigami gathered Wonderweiss, the three girls and Lilynette to take them all to be checked over at Shinigami Medical.

At Shinigami Medical, Starrk stood at the beside while she tried to convince him she was fine. He paused to step outside when the phone rang.

“Captain Starrk,” came Captain Zaraki’s voice. “Bad news. That club? Looks like shooting it up wasn’t enough. Place is burning now.”

Starrk sighed, putting a hand to his head. He knew this was going to destroy Tier. He put the phone away and walked back into the room. She looked up and smiled.

“They burned it.”

He looked at her and nodded. “I’m sorry, _mi amor._ ”

“I was surprised they didn’t try and burn it with us inside,” she said and nodded toward the hall were her three girls were walking back. “They weren’t hurt that’s what matters.”

“Tier, what are we gonna do?” Apacci asked with a frown.

“Well, we’re putting everyone in the safe-house,” spoke Captain Kuchiki from the doorway.

Starrk stood up. “What are you doing here, Byakuya? You have nothing to do with organized crime…”

“I do have a lot to do with it, actually,” he said with a sigh. “But for this, I’m available. So come, you three, and I’ve sent Renji to stay with Uryū’s boyfriend until he’s released.”

Sun Sung frowned. “But our things…”

Byakuya smiled. “I’ll send someone to get everything you put on a list. It is simply too dangerous for you to go home.”

In short order, all three of the girls that worked at Tiberon, Starrk and his family, and Shinobu were taken and roomed  in the safe-house. Ichigo was walking through the halls with Grimmjow when he caught sight of Shinobu being taken into his room.

“Please, I need to know where Uryū is?” he asked, obviously frantic.

A woman from medical, Isane Kotetsu, was escorting him. “Sweetie, I promise, we’re doing all we can. We know he’s safe, but that’s all that we can say. I promise we’re doing everything to get him back.”

The door shut and Ichigo, the real one, stopped in the center of the hall. Grimmjow turned back, but he wasn’t expecting the foot that planted right in his solar plexus with a surprising amount of force. He gasped, stumbling back, and heard a muttered, “I’m sorry…” and he fell flat to the floor.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo couldn’t do it. He couldn’t let people pay for something that was because of him. He didn’t know why this Yahweh guy wanted him, but he had to go to him. He didn’t think that the guy would let Uryū go, but he could get to him and let him go, at least, he hoped he could. Shiro slipped out of the building and Ichigo slept once again.

The stabbing pain his neck surprised him as he felt the cool sensation of being drugged wash over him. He supposed that was the only way these people knew how to do anything…

"Oh, look at 'im, isn't he cute?" a voice said that pierced the darkness around his head. It was an unfamiliar.

He felt pain; his arms were out beside and above him, holding him up. He looked around to find himself in a study of some sort, his body suspended between anchors in a doorframe. And for a moment Ichigo was looking out of those brown eyes, before he screamed and retreated further away, eyes slipping closed for a moment.

"Fucker, let me go, goddamned you!" Shiro called out, yanking suddenly on the chains. "I'll fuckin' rip yer heads off!"

The man with the stringy dark hair that sat behind the desk only smirked. There were two men beside Shiro, one was blond and the other had half black, half red hair. The one on his right, the one with long blond hair and an expressionless face, slapped him lightly on the back of the head.

"Oh my, language, Ichi-kun!" the man staring at him practically purred.

"Fuck you, I'm Shiro not Ichigo," he snarled, looking at him with a furious glint to his eyes. The other man smiled. "What you fuckin' smilin' at ya fuck?" Shiro continued.

"I'm your God, Yahweh. And I'm smiling at you, Ichigo."

"Fuck, how many times I gotta say it, I ain't Ichigo, I'm fuckin' Shiro. Shouldn't be that fuckin' hard to get that. Ichigo's fuckin' gone right now," he said, turning his snarl this God Yahweh.

"Well bring him back so I can talk to him," Yahweh said smoothly.

Shiro snorted. "I can't, he'll only come out when he wants to."

Yahweh looked at him and nodded. "So how can we make him want to come out?"

"Hell if I know, I show up when I want and then the others come up when they're tired of my shit," Shiro answered staring at the floor.

"I see," Yahweh said with a sigh. "Well, I don't want to deal with you or the 'others' so until Ichigo can speak with me, I'm leaving you with my friend here. Jugram, torture him until he comes to the surface."

"Wh-what the fuck, man?" Shiro sputtered as a man behind him unhooked the shackle from the door frame on each side and then dragged him away and to a small elevator. The one with the two-toned hair did the lifting, and they followed this Jugram.

Shiro was roughly dragged into a windowless room from the elevator and had both arms chained above his head on the wall. He looked around franticly. "What the hell is this?" The room was otherwise empty, but he could see there was a drain in the center. A basement room.

"Our god wants you to bring Ichigo to talk to him. So we're gonna play until he comes out,” he muttered. He went to a cabinet to the side and took out a case. He came back and sat it down on a nearby rolling table. Where had that been? He glanced around again but didn’t see any more tables. The guy with red and black hair just watched from near the door.

Jugram pulled out a long, thin knife. He smiled and reached out and sliced through the arms of his shirt, just an old shirt of Grimmjow's that he was sleeping in, and it fell easily off his slim body. Jugram admired his form, reaching over and touching gently to the scars on his belly and chest. He clucked his tongue and reached out and flipped him around, now running fingers down the thick scars down his back.

"Those boys had no style, I swear," he muttered. "I'll fix that, give you some nice looking scars."

And before long, Ichigo couldn't think, and even Shiro's cussing died on his lips in favor of screaming as fine, nearly imperceptible cuts began to appear all over him. Shiro finally receded, and Tensa attempted to deal with it, the screams quieting suddenly. Jugram stopped and stood back, staring at the renewed determination in his eyes where Shiro had been screaming and cussing him a moment before.

"Shiro leave, eh?" he asked, wiping his blade on his shirt. "Who is this now? Has Ichigo returned?"

"Tensa," he said with a sigh. "I'm Tensa."

Jugram smiled. "It's like having a new toy all over. Well, here we go again. If you wish it to stop, Ichigo only needs to come to the surface."

It took longer, but Tensa finally receded in a final scream, the quiet and calm settling over him again. Once more Jugram stopped and looked at the face. "Not Tensa, eh?"

He shook his head, blood flicking off the tips of his orange hair as he did. His entire body was a sheen of blood, some shallow cuts, some thin cuts, some wide cuts, and some deep that were still oozing blood, blanketed his chest and back. "Zangetsu," he said quietly.

"Well, Zan, let's have some more fun, shall we?" Jugram said and once more went to work.

Zan however proved harder to break than he thought. Jugram had to stop because Ichigo was on the verge of passing out from blood loss, and he couldn't have any fun without a screaming victim. He motioned for someone to come and wrap his wounds and go report to Yahweh. While he was gone, the one with two-toned hair came in and dumped a bucket of water over him, cleaning his blood off and then drying him roughly with a towel. He wrapped thick pads around him, then sighed at him. He shook his head and left. Ichigo was nearly passed out when a familiar voice spoke.

"Don't worry, we’ll and I will come see you again later, we've missed you," drawing the brown eyes up to him, and he recognized him instantly. He was wearing the mask, though the black strands of greasy hair framing his face were unmistakable.

It was at that point, he passed out, both from exhaustion and sheer shock at seeing one of his attackers up close.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Grimmjow,” a female voice said from outside his mind. “Time to wake up. You have work to do.”

Grimmjow sat up suddenly with a gasp. “What? Where is he?”

“Your boy managed to sneak out after knocking you out,” Rukia said with a sigh.

She looked disheveled, of course they all did, having been pulled out of bed at such unholy hours this morning. Beside her was the pink haired scientist that was the head of forensics. He looked like shit. His pink hair was more that bed head, and he was sporting a nice black eye too. He reeked a little of alcohol, black t-shirt and black jeans both looking like he'd been rolling in the dirt recently. He wondered just what the hell he had been doing when he was called in. If he remembered correctly, Szayel’s brother had been mixed up in the mess with the Wandenreich somehow.

Grimmjow had to ask. "Szayel, fuck happened to you?"

Szayel fixed him with a glare. "You know, if it didn't pertain to this case, I'd probably deck you, Grimm. But considering it does," he said, gratefully taking a cup of offered coffee from their intern's hands.  Said intern disappeared. "Illfordt has been staying at Yahweh’s compound. I figured he must be into him for money again. So, I got Illfordt to come out to a bar last night, playing the 'worried little brother' game with him."

"Well get on with it, pinky," Grimmjow muttered, his irritation showing.

Szayel sighed. "Anyway, I asked him what he was doing still with Yahweh, and he started going on about how he got himself in trouble again, so Yahweh was going to fix it, like usual. I pestered him, got him to drink some more, and he tells me that by the time he gets back, things will be cool, and that Yahweh will have what he wants. We bantered a while and then he starts in about the kid. Just totally fucking running off at the mouth about it. I guess I got him drunk enough."

Szayel stopped and took a shaking breath. "He tells me that he thinks the best part of being with Yahweh is that there aren’t any rules, like what happened to your boy. He says he wished he’d been there, but hopes that he’ll get a chance when he gets back. I told him that was messed up, he shouldn't want to do that, and he got defensive, going on about how Yahweh was taking care of him and he didn't worry about it. So, I got pissed. I blew up asking how being okay with raping some kid and nearly beating him to death is a good thing. I didn't expect the fist I got for that one. We tussled a bit, got kicked out of the bar soundly by the bouncer and sat in the dirt outside. And fuck me if he wasn't crying when I looked over."

Szayel tossed his head back and looked up. "I already talked to Kuchiki about it. Went to him as soon as I got a cab. Anyway, he tells me that he didn't like what happened to that boy. He said he hated when he heard about the others that Nödt and those guys killed. Illfordt's a fucking idiot and followed orders. So he’s scared as shit because no matter what he said, he could see them being ordered to do something else to him.”

Szayel sighed. “I told him that he had an out, and always had, if he'd just take it. He stormed off, and I called a cab," Szayel glanced at Grimmjow to see if he was going to say something yet. "Not really useful information, but it does something for me to think my brother wasn't a complete insensitive prick."

The room was quiet as they waited for Szayel. Grimmjow saw he was in the conference room upstairs in the main office again. Rukia and Byakuya were standing with Starrk on one side of the room and Szayel was sitting on the floor by the sofa he was lying on.

"Alright guys, we have no idea where to look for him. And right now, Szayel's under orders to work his brother on his own, so I need you all to stay out of his way. If we can flip Illfordt and give him a deal, we can get the actual perps. But we can't push it or we lose our best shot at getting the kid back in one piece. We have no other leads."

Grimmjow growled. Just as he was about to speak, the silence was broken by Szayel's phone buzzing in his pants. He pulled it out, glaring at it and flipped it open.

"Illfordt?" he said, his pink brows scrunching over his amber colored eyes. "Calm down, fuck, man, you're still drunk!"

There was a long silence, and Szayel jumped up and grabbed a pen and paper on the desk. He scribbled _track it_ and clicked on the speakerphone. The room was filled with his brother's voice.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, Szay, get me out of this fuckin' mess…" came the hushed whispered. "I can't fuckin' take this. I can’t do this. I can’t. Not after what…"

"Illfordt, calm down, what's going on?" Szayel said tightly. No one in the room moved or spoke.

There was a shuffling and they heard background noises. "Illfordt, the fuck, dude?" a raspy voice spoke. It wasn’t easy to identify.

"Bazz, hey what's up?" he returned, his voice muffled, the phone most likely in his pocket.

"Hey, Boss has a job for you. We’re gonna try and get our little friend to come out and play. Jugram sliced him up til he passed out, now we get a turn, see if we can jostle those memories loose, eh? Need you on the door and make sure no one bothers us. If you do a good job, you can have some fun too," the other voice said.

"Man, I'm fuckin' drunk as shit, can't this wait?"

There was a rustling again. "You going to turn down an order from the boss? You want to end up strung up like the kid? I can’t say I’ve never wanted to watch you scream."

"Okay, fuck, dude, just let me go, can I get some fuckin' coffee first?"

There was a pause. "Sure, man. Drunk fuckin' ain't as fun, so I got that. You'll just have last go, fucker."

There were a few footsteps and the phone was muffled more, as if he stuck his hand in his pocket. Then the world was clearer again. "Second thought, let's go get that fuckin' coffee together, eh, Illfordt? I need the stamina. After all, been up all night, drive-bys and arsons and all."

There was movement and the phone went dead. The quiet that descended was nearly deafening. They all knew about Jugram Haschwalth. He was a sadistic bastard with a penchant for knives and making people bleed.

"This is certainly not a good situation," a new voice said from behind. They turned around to see a blonde man in a green and white striped bucket hat and a long green coat.

Grimmjow looked up, and then noticed the another doctor, this one a tall, thin man with white hair. "This is Dr. Kisuke Urahara," the white haired man said nodding to them. “I’m Ryūken Ishida. He's a specialist in multiple personality disorders are they are colloquially called, and post-traumatic stress triggers for them. I, of course, am Uryū’s father."

The men walked forward. Rukia handed Urahara the files and he thumbed through them. "So he's been taken back to the ones that assaulted him in the first place?"

Silence met him, confirming his thoughts. "This could end badly for the boy," he said softly. "From what I've seen, we've got a lot of pieces to put back together, and this will certainly make it worse."

"There was a trace,” came a voice from the door. Szayel got up and took off to see what the location was. Grimmjow followed him. No one said anything else, the obvious pain and anger that was rippling through his face was more than enough to tell them he was doing everything in his power, not just for the victim, but for his brother as well.


	6. Teardrops For Rainfall

 

He woke up slowly. He felt thick and slurred and he recognized the feeling of that same drug in his system. Vermilion Rose, they'd called it. It was a bright orange dissolvable powder that was nearly tasteless if it was mixed with something with carbonation like soda or beer. The effects were similar to ecstasy, but they lasted longer. The problems with it were the mind fog associated with it in higher dosages. Right now, he'd had a moderate dosage and he was starting to feel the effects of the stimulant properties, and to his horror, he heard a familiar voice.

“Seems you're awake?” the voice said, and he tried not to open his eyes.

Then there was a hand around his throat and his eyes flew open and he was face to face with the hideously disfigured man with the mask. His breath choked and he felt his mind slip away again to be replaced with someone stronger for a while.

“Let me go,” his voice, now suddenly level said around the hand holding his throat.

Nödt growled through the leather mask over his face. “No, no, see I saw that, you were there for a minute, Ichigo. Now this, no, you come back!”

Tensa glared at him through the brown eyes. He was going to protect Ichigo this time, no matter what they did. His body was wrapped in gauze to cover the cuts that had been put on him by the one with the knife. Some were oozing blood through the bandages, and he was pretty sure those should be stitched closed. He had his hands tied behind his back and was sitting on a grimy mattress on the floor. A quick tug showed that his hands were secured to the radiator behind him. He wasn’t going to let them do this to Ichigo again. He was stronger than them.

Two men walked in, and he knew them both. The huge man and the one with the flopped mohawk. Someone else was at the door peeking in, but the blond-haired man didn’t come into the room. Tensa didn’t have to be told what was happening here. They were trying to force Ichigo to surface, but they were going to instead push him further down.

“Are ya gonna scream for us again? Make it easy, let the little brat come out and the Boss can get his freak on, then we can kill ya and it will all be over,” the one with the mohawk said, Bazz was his name if Tensa remembered. Nödt and Driscoll were the other two. Bazz’s appearance at the office had triggered the fracture.

Tensa had a plan, but it might get them killed. But he had to do it. He patiently sat back and worked the knots in the rope. If he could just get free, Shiro would do the rest. He was shoved backward though, and tried desperately to concentrate on untying the knots, without attracting attention. He locked eyes with the blond at the door and he saw something there. He wasn't sure if he trusted him but he was going to have to try. The biggest one was on him, grinning down at him.

“Last time I didn't get to see yer face, so this time I'm gonna fix that,” he said, and reached for the string to the sleep pants he was wearing. He bucked his hips, trying to get purchase to swing up and kick the body over him, but found his legs pinned wide and apart by huge man.

“Tch, tch, can't have that,” he said and then removed the pants with a quick pull and then resumed his position, pressing his legs down and open. He groaned as the muscles stretched in an unnatural way.

“Hrm, too bad once the boss gets you, we’ll never see you again.” Driscoll smirked. “I still can’t imagine his hair is that color naturally, even down there.”

The ropes, he concentrated on the ropes. If he could just get them undone…but the drugs were working against him. His head was on fire, and his body was ready to jump out of its own skin, but his head was so fogged.

He almost missed the sudden spearing pain he was focusing so much on the ropes behind him. His back arched and he cried out, his fingers fumbling as they were crushed behind him against the radiator he was tied to. He panted and tears began to squeeze from his eyes. It hurt so much, the pain again shooting down his legs into the arches of his feet, making his toes curl and spasm. But he still tried to fumble with the ropes through the pain. Looser now, just a little more…

The attack was brutal and fast, just like the first time. He grimaced and ground his teeth together as the horrible man sped to his finish. He just wanted it over, just wanted it done so he could pass out. Tensa was hanging on, but barely, as he finally felt a bit of give in the knot. The brute above him snapped his hips particularly hard, getting a yelp of pain before he spilled his seed inside him. He grimaced at the feeling, but then he pulled away. Tensa he laid his head back, but before he could rest for a second, the one with the mask was taking his place. Driscoll leaving, and Tensa was staring at the blond with the horrified exression.

“Please, no more now,” Tensa said, fingers finally loosening the knot enough that he felt blood rushing to his hands.

Nodt pulled the mask away and Tensa shivered. And then just as quickly, he slammed into him, getting a strangled cry in response. Tensa was trying to hold on. He couldn’t take two at once, so this one had to leave. Just a little more, then he'd give it to Shiro. He had to have one opponent and he had to have the ropes undone behind him. Shiro's blood lust would override and he'd never get the rope undone. It seemed to take forever, his teeth clenched in pain, and his focusing on one thing and one thing only, undoing the knot. He wasn't even sure where he was, wasn't sure he could get away, but he knew he had to try if there was a chance that Ichigo's fragmented consciousness would ever be put back together.

They all knew what they were. They all, even Shiro, knew they were simply parts of Ichigo. And they knew that if he didn't heal, they'd never be whole again. He grunted as the one on top of him leaned forward more, yanking his legs up in the air on his shoulder. He gripped the ropes he was frantically trying to untie and let out a pained cry. And he thought the other way hurt…

A snapping of his hips and Nodt was moving away, leaving Tensa on his back on the dirty mattress. His arms were under him and he was almost done with the knots as Nodt left, chuckling something to the blond at the doorway. No, this was it. The last of the rope was giving as Bazz forced himself on Tensa now.

“All this could be over if you would just come up, Ichigo,” Bazz muttered as he pinned him down by the shoulders for a moment. Then he made the mistake of moving to a position shifting their legs to his shoulder, leaving Tensa’s arms free under him.

Everything settled into slow motion it seemed. The ropes fell away, and Tensa's exhausted consciousness receded, while the violent Shiro began to rise to the surface like an angry flood of heat. His head snapped back and his arms shot out wrapping around the neck of the man currently ravaging his body. The look on his face was priceless and Shiro grinned manically.

“Fuckin' rapists like you should have your balls cut off and shoved down yer fucking throat,” he whispered as his hands tightened. The man above him began to flail, his hands moving from the legs he was holding up against him and flew to his neck. Shiro shifted, pulling himself up further and locked his ankles behind the guy's neck. He was very flexible and still had the skills of a gymnast in his body. Then Bazz started trying to kick and knee him, but the grip he had on the guy was iron and born of fury and pure hatred. Then he let go his neck and twisted his whole body, using the Bazz's momentary off balanced state to flip him off onto the floor.

By the door, Illfordt was standing stock still. If the guy could take Bazz down, he could maybe get out of here with him, then say he was a hostage if they were caught. He watched as this previously limp and almost unconscious boy sprung from his position and landed a crushing drop kick into Bazz’s gut. He danced backward as D. managed to stand up. Before he knew it a flying roundhouse kick had hit him in the jaw followed up by an immediate combo of a right hook and a left uppercut to his chin. Illfordt wasn't sure how the kid was moving like this under the drugs and the blood loss after Gin was done with him. Bazz flopped down on the floor, eyes closed, and blood flowing from a couple different wounds on his face. The orange haired kid turned around, eyes like fire as he stared at Illfordt.

“Stop!” he said, holding his arms up.

“Why, you were just going to take a fuckin' turn after he was done,” Shiro said in an accusing tone.

“P-please, I'll go to jail, but my brother…he-he's working yer case, okay, he said if I could help, maybe I'd get a fuckin' deal, so I want out, and I'll take their deal, because I didn't sign up for this shit,” he said, watching the guy’s eyes for any sign he'd jump him. Then just as quickly he calmed, relaxed his stance.

“You will be watched. If you do not comply, Shiro will return, and I will allow him to kill this time,” his voice was different, almost like a different person.

Illfordt nodded vigorously, the reached down and grabbed the pajama pants the boy had been in and tossed them over. Shiro pulled the t shirt off Bazz and pulled it over his head. Illfordt then checked the door, and pulled out his new burner phone, dialing Szayel's number rapidly as they fled through the dark house.

“Illfordt?” came the reply.

“Szayel, I need that out, right fuckin' now, ain't no going back for me now,” he said in a hushed whisper.

“What do you mean?”

“I got the fuckin' kid with me, the one they brought in, now please, fuckin' get me out of here before I'm shot,” he said, slamming the phone closed but leaving the call open and traceable.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Szayel leaped out of his seat. “Text me the location, I'm headed toward it, if he moves tell me, I'll extract him in my car, that way they don't see a cop presence and get spooked.”

Grimmjow was on his heels. “I'm going with you, pinky,” he stated.

Szayel looked at him and knew there was no arguing. “Alright, just keep your fuckin' mouth shut, okay?”

They practically sprinted to the garage and jumped into Szayel's red mustang convertible. He put down the top as they drove. “What the hell, man?” Grimmjow asked.

“They're gonna be fucking running, right? Easiest way to grab and go,” Szayel told him.

Grimmjow's phone rang. “What?”

“Hang a left!” Rin Tsubokura’s voice told him. Rin was the head of the tech division and in charge of the tracer they’d done. He relayed the instructions until they were headed down a deserted road. Then they were told he was to the right, which all that was there was an alleyway with no lights.

Grimmjow jumped out and ran full tilt down the alley, while Szayel followed not far behind, leaving the car running behind them, and flicked on a flashlight, shining it down and saw the glint of a pair of eyes. “Illfordt!”

Illfordt jumped up and he sighed visibly. Szayel and Grimmjow ran down the alley and they found Szayel’s brother standing over the still form of the orange haired boy. Grimmjow knelt and gathered him up in his arms, smelling something on him he didn’t want to mention. It was obvious what had happened before they got out of there, and Grimmjow wondered exactly how far back this was going to set them now.

“He passed out halfway out the house, I'm amazed he lasted that long, let's get the fuck out before they realize we're gone. He knocked Bazz the fuck out, but I don't know how long he'll stay that way…”

With no time for words, they'd leaped back into the mustang and headed off at full speed to the hospital with Ichigo. Grimmjow sat in the back seat with his head pulled into his lap, brushing the orange hair matted with sweat and blood out of his face. Ichigo blinked slowly, looking up at Grimmjow, and he wasn't sure that the boy was even seeing him right. He smiled looking into his deep cyan eyes.

“Rainfall sunshine, smell of rainfall sunshine,” he whispered and his eyes closed again.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow paced again. It was almost five am now after everything that had happened, and the kid was being checked over. He'd needed a total of thirty-eight stitches before they were done. His father had been informed, but he opted to avoid traumatizing him again by showing up unrequested. Grimmjow had heard the unspoken pain in the man's level voice.

Dr. Urahara was the one who came in to speak with Grimmjow.

“Detective, I understand he said something to you on the way here?” he asked.

Grimmjow nodded. “Yeah, didn't make no sense, said something about rainfall sunshine, the smell of rainfall sunshine. I got no idea what that means. He told me the other day he remembered a friend who smelled like sunflowers and rain, I think that Tatsuki chick, but he couldn't remember her by name or face, only that she knocked his first tooth out in karate class.”

The blond doctor adjusted his bucket hat again, frowning slightly. “I think he may be associating memories with certain smells. But it is hard to say. He's asking for you now, I believe it is Tensa in control at the moment. We had a good talk. Tensa explained a lot of what happened, including what Shiro did. My only explanation after the kind of blood loss he had was a massive burst of adrenaline.”

Grimmjow nodded, just wanting to see the dumb orange haired brat again. He went into the room and sat beside him. Those beautiful eyes fell on him and he smiled.

“Grimmjow, I'm glad you came, it has been a difficult night.”

“Tensa, what does rainfall sunshine mean?” Grimmjow asked leaning forward.

He arched an orange brow. “I do not know; the combination of words sounds like nonsense.”

“But you said them on the way here in Szayel's car.”

Tensa looked thoughtful. “We have no memory of such a thing.”

Dr. Unohana came in then, smiling, and handing him a clipboard. “He's fine to take to the safe house, Detective, though I suggest some officers stationed around the entrance this time.” She looked at Ichigo. “You need to avoid trying to escape your protection.”

Tensa nodded. “I am afraid that Ichigo feared for the life of this man named Uryū. I still do. He has limited time before he expires due to lack of food and water.”

“He wasn’t going to release him even if we had you. But we have a location now. We can get in there and get him out,” Grimmjow told Tensa. “Why don’t you go change?” He handed him a pile of clothes and watched as he went to the bathroom.

Unohana gestured to Grimmjow and had him come to the side of the room out of Tensa’s earshot. “He was raped again before he got out. He said Driscoll and Nödt were able to ‘finish’ but it was during Bazz’s assault that Shiro came to the surface and attacked him. It was smart, waiting until there was only one of them there to fight. He was drugged again with Vermillion Rose, but for some reason it doesn’t seem to have the adverse reaction to the drug now that he came through the overdose. I think this is why Yahweh is so obsessed with those that survive it. He is still going to have to deal with these events, and the second rape is going to make it even harder. You are going to have to be very careful with him.”

He nodded and sighed. Great. As if him getting cut up wasn't enough, now this again. He rubbed his nasal bridge and went to help him get dressed and out of the hospital. He had a bag full of dressings and antibiotic ointment, and a thick folder with instructions on caring for the wounds. Outside the room were two uniforms that followed them as they left.

They made it back to their room, and two they put two officers outside his door, and increased the camera surveillance in the hallway. They weren't taking any chances this time. They really didn't want the him ending up in enemy hands again, especially since he'd actually been to and seen Yahweh in person. Grimmjow decided to let him sleep in his bed, because he had a creeping sensation that being away for even the shortest amount of time was a bad idea. He didn't mind. Grimmjow warned him, though, that if he woke up with any part of Shiro on his cock in the morning, he was going to make him sleep on the concrete floor in the kitchen. It was a baseless threat, Grimmjow would never do such a thing, but it seemed to work. Even though Shiro pouted.

Since the trio of new personalities had awoken, he really hadn't seen any sign of the severely traumatized boy from the beginning. Of course, he should have expected it after that night. But he had been hoping it wouldn't hit him so fast.

Again and again the scenes replayed in Ichigo’s mind. The hands were everywhere. The feelings, the horror at what he was going through. Even as Tensa had firm control, he screamed inside, every touch shocking his whole being. Then the hot flush when Shiro took control and released the pent-up fury that was burning in his chest from the first moment a hand had pressed him into the ground. He wanted to kill him, break his neck, but Zangetsu had held him back in the end. The blood lust quickly fading, and the world around him fading just as quickly.

“Ichigo!” a voice called and shook him. “Wake up!”

He blinked at the blue eyes above him. His face was wet with tears, and he was curled up in a ball on the big bed he was sharing with his blue haired savior.

“It hurt so much…” he gasped. “So much pain,” he whispered, tears flooding now from his chocolate eyes.

Grimmjow was at a loss. He'd woken to the sounds of him fighting and yelling in a fitful dream or memory. Instead of sedative, he decided to wake him and now he was wondering what to do. This was Ichigo and he was in a delicate spot. But he needed someone to comfort him. So, Grimmjow reached out and gently drew him into a warm embrace with his back against him. To his surprise Ichigo relaxed into the embrace. He was breathing heavily, almost panting.

“I don't understand,” he almost sobbed. “I don't understand it, why would they do this to me? It's all shattered and gone, the whole of my soul fractured and fragmented, how do I live like this, how do I manage? All I want is the blue rainfall, blue rainfall to soothe my burning soul, and just once the sunshine above, bright and orange, just to awaken the sleeping heart within the rainfall,” he whispered and then settled into the rhythm of sleep with unnatural quickness.

Grimmjow held him even tighter. What the fuck? More of that rainfall and sunshine stuff. What exactly was that supposed to mean?

He kept him wrapped in his arms all night, afraid to let him go, lest the dreams come chasing him again. To his surprise, Ichigo slept the rest of the night, and if Grimmjow tried to move away from the boy, he'd move and snuggle in closer to him. He imagined a gentle touch was something that meant a lot to him. So, there he lay, late into the morning, past the alarm, having texted in to the captain that he would be late. And he let the boy sleep. Granted, since they had only laid down at around six am, there was certainly no doubt that sleeping past noon would occur.

He found himself slowly stroking the orange hair on the head below him. A few butterflies and one large cut that was stitched up could be seen on this side of his face. He gently pressed his fingers along the skin. He was certainly a beautiful thing. He heard him sigh contentedly in his sleep and Grimmjow decided if lying wrapped around the boy would help him sleep, he would dedicate every night to doing just that. And hope beyond hope that he'd see the true light return to those eyes. And he realized, he wanted to see that light more than anything else.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow awoke with the stiff feeling of someone who hadn’t moved all night and he wondered for a moment why that was, then he felt Ichigo move in his arms and he realized that he had indeed not moved all night. He carefully pulled away, pulling a dead asleep arm from under Ichigo’s head, and shaking it out. He figured he would get breakfast ready.

After a few minutes, a bleary eyed orange haired boy came out of the room. He looked lost, confused, and Grimmjow was a bit worried. What happened the day before was going to leave a tangible mark on him, no doubt.

“Ichigo?” he asked, and Ichigo looked up at him curiously.

The boy frowned and went back into the bedroom. After a few moments, he heard the bath start up. Grimmjow almost went back into the kitchen, then remembered the first morning he woke to find him in the bathtub, and he knew that there might be a repeat performance of that action. It wasn’t something he wanted to deal with again.

“Fuck,” he muttered and rushed back into the bedroom to the bath to find him, seated in the tub staring vacantly at the water. Grimmjow stepped back out of his sight and watched.

Ichigo mechanically reached up and turned off the water, still staring at the water then slipped down under the surface. Grimmjow blinked, waiting for him to come back up. And it seemed like a long minute passed. Too damn long, so he ran to the tub and yanked him up out of the water with one quick move. Ichigo gasped loudly and thrashed against him, sending water sloshing all over Grimmjow and out into the floor.

“No!” he screamed. “Let me go! Just let me die!”

Grimmjow pulled him out into his lap on the floor, cradling his body against him as tightly as he could, despite how hard he thrashed against him. Blood was leaking from his wounds that he was agitating and mixing with the water dripping off his naked body. Grimmjow let him claw and bite him, leaving bloody trails down his arms and shoulders, but he didn’t let go, just held him until he calmed, exhausted from fighting the strong arms that held him, his head falling onto Grimmjow’s chest. He’d ended up facing him, arms tucked around behind his back in a tight grip and Ichigo leaning against him on his knees. Then he just seemed to wilt, sliding down against him.

Grimmjow could feel Ichigo’s heart being horribly fast in chest, and he felt the warm tears running down his back along with the blood from the wounds he’d given him. But still he held on. He didn’t know how to comfort someone, that was Renji’s deal, but he did know how to hold on to someone for dear life. Because that was what this was, his life. And he wasn’t going to let him give up, not yet. No, not at all.

Ichigo weakly tried to pull away, balling up his fists and beating on Grimmjow’s chest as he hefted him up bridal style and took him to the bedroom. He sat down on the bed with him, and pulled him against him again, leaning back on the headboard. He shushed him, and ran his hands through his hair and down his back, as though he were a child. And he was like a child right now. He was scared, hurting, and ashamed.

“Please Ichigo, please, stay with me, I don’t want you to let go of life, okay?” Grimmjow said softly, petting his hair and rocking him a little. “I…I need you, okay? If ya need something to stay here in the world of the living, make it me.”

He heard his breath hitch, and felt warm tears run down his chest and after a moment his breathing evened out and he’d fallen asleep again. Grimmjow held him a while longer, not wanting to remove his arms from him. And it hit him how much what he said was true. He didn’t want him to leave, not in death or for any reason. He didn’t remember if he’d ever felt like this about another person, let alone another man. This was so strange, this need to comfort even when he wasn’t sure what he was doing. He laid him down and pulled the spare blanket up and over him, and he snuggled into it. He smiled and continued to stroke his hair. It seemed to sooth him, even in sleep. Breakfast could wait. Right now, he needed to have both eyes on him.

A couple hours later, Ichigo opened his eyes and looked up to see Grimmjow watching over him. “The fuck happen ta ya, blue?” Shiro’s accented voice asked.

“You did, remember?” Grimmjow said, sad to see that Ichigo had retreated again, but glad to see a personality not intent on self-harm.

The brown eyes rolled up for a second and he nodded. “Uh, yeah, well damn. That sucks. Ya should prolly bandage some of those before they get infected. I could lick ya wounds if ya want me to,” he said with a smirk.

Grimmjow sighed. “Here, get dressed, I’ll make breakfast and we can head down to the station and see if we got anything useful from Szayel’s brother,” he said, handing him a pile of clothes.

“Aw, Blue, ya ain’t no fun. Can’t tell me ya don’t want to lay me out and fuck me clear through the bed here,” he said, tossing aside the blanket casually, revealing his naked body and pouting.

“Shiro, no I won’t deny that, but I’m not touching you, any of you, until Ichigo is healed, so stop,” he said.

Shiro shifted then his gaze altered. “You are a good person, Grimmjow. I must thank you for not taking Shiro’s advances. The damage might be irreversible if you did,” he said in Tensa’s familiar timbre.

Grimmjow shook his head. “Look, I think Ichigo has my heart already, and I’m not going to ruin the chances of one day having him reciprocate those feelings.”

Tensa frowned at him for a moment as he walked away, thinking over those words. Then he stood up and regretted it greatly. He groaned, lowering himself back to the bed. His whole body felt sore, but his back and rear bore the brunt of it. He’d been unconscious the last time and hadn’t had to deal with the after effects. He looked up to see Grimmjow handing him a pill and a glass of water.

“They said you’d be in a lot of pain over the next couple days. The damage wasn’t extensive, but it was enough, so you should take one every four hours. They’re prescription, so they might make you a little dizzy,” he said.

Tensa nodded and sat up slowly, wincing again, and took the pill, gulping the water. He laid back down and really didn’t want to sit back up.

“You want me to help ya get dressed?” Grimmjow asked slowly.

Tensa rolled his head over and nodded. “Please, I don’t think I can even bend all the way over to put on shorts.”

Grimmjow nodded and pulled the boxers out of the pile of clothes and slipped them over his feet where he laid out in the bed. He gently pulled them up, avoiding his bits as he pulled them over his hip bones. He pulled the loose sweat pants up next then pulled on his socks and shoes. He reached out a hand and helped him sit up, and noticed he didn’t flinch as bad. He handed him the shirt and he nodded.

“I can do this, at least,” Tensa sighed, and pulled it on.

“I didn’t cook, but I have some cherry pop tarts, you want some?” he asked.

Tensa nodded and took Grimmjow’s hand, standing a little shakily. “That medicine is wonderful,” he said, smiling at him.

“Yeah, well most people think lortab is pretty awesome,” he said, handing him the pastries and ushering him out the door as he nibbled on one of them.

They got in the car and headed to the station to figure out what was happening. He led him in, keeping a steady hand on his bicep as they hit the elevator. He decided not to send him off alone after this morning, though. He led him into the bullpen with him.

“Grimmjow, why don’t you let him rest upstairs?” Rukia said looking at him.

Grimmjow shook his head. “No, I can’t let him out of my sight.”

Soon enough Captain Ukitake and Starrk came over along with a couple others. Ichigo, or Tensa at the moment, was sitting on the floor behind him, leaning back against the desk staring up at the light fixtures.

“What’s with him?” Renji asked. “Shouldn’t you send him upstairs instead of hearing all this?” Renji asked with a frown creasing his tattooed forehead.

Grimmjow sighed. “First, he’s on lortabs, so he’s a little loopy, and second, he tried to drown himself this morning in the bath so he’s not getting out of my sight for any reason from here on out.”

“Who was in control when he did that?” Renji asked staring at him.

He sighed. “That’s the thing, he woke up last night screaming and I calmed him down, and he was himself, not one of the personalities, saying weird shit about rainfall and sunshine again. Then this morning he was quiet and I realized too much, and he tried to fight me off when I hauled his ass out of the bath,” he said, peeling away the bandage on his shoulder showing distinct gouge marks from the boy’s nails. “Cut me up good, but I’ll live. He fell asleep for a bit, and he woke up as Shiro, but after Shiro realized I wasn’t taking him up on his advances, Tensa showed up.”

“Okay, fine, let’s head to the conference room and go over what we got from Illfordt. We’ve put him in protective custody, and as of now he’s our best lead to Yahweh,” Rukia said, gesturing them forward.

The eyes that followed them went unseen, however. Who would imagine that there was a plant this deep in their department? The phone was out and a text message sent quickly, and behind the scenes the wheels began to turn once more.

* * *


	7. Sunshine on the Past

 

Aizen watched as everything fell into place. He caressed the insignia on his chest, the starburst design for the fifth division with five points on it. He stared at the text message he’d just gotten and sighed. He’d hoped to keep them in the dark a little longer, but it seemed that it was time to move. He wondered how many undercovers Starrk had inside Yahweh’s organization yet. He did wish he could find out, but that was impossible. There was a system in place to prevent anyone who wasn’t in need of knowing something to know it. It was supposed to protect everyone involved. Even though Starrk was technically under him, his section was separate from the public face of organized crime to make sure no one knew too much.

He stood up and sighed. He never would have made this deal with Yahweh if it didn’t give him what he wanted; and that was revenge.

He turned to face the window, a frown creasing his lips. It had been almost fifteen years ago when thing started falling apart. Kisuke had been his closest friend, a fellow scientist but lacked the business sense that Aizen had. And Aizen had a lot of penchant for being an opportunist. He’d always had a finger in a lot of pies, and some illegal. Kisuke had found out that he was trafficking new synthetic drugs and broke away, taking with him the formula for an incredibly powerful drug he’d dubbed hogyuku. It was potent, and blurred that line between life and death that no other drug could do. Of course, it had a high mortality. Nearly half his test subjects had died within two weeks of using the drug, but those that lived, they gained increased stamina, strength, and speed, at least until the drug wore off. The higher the dose, the stronger the effect, and the more the risk. It would have single handedly set him up for life. But no, his friend decided it was far too dangerous. Well, he would have it back.

It wasn’t like Aizen had known that it was his old partner’s nephew at first. Nephew was a misnomer, as Ichigo wasn’t blood related to Kisuke at all. More like his stepchild than nephew even if he insisted on calling him that. Of course, Ichigo didn’t know why his father and Kisuke were so very close. It was only after he saw the reports that he realized that the boy that Yahweh had snagged was Ichigo Kurosaki. He smiled to himself. It was the perfect opportunity to get what he wanted. He wondered how far he would have to take things to get what he wanted? He wouldn’t kill him, of course, he couldn’t because Yahweh wouldn’t let him. He might be able to torture the boy again and that made him smile. He smiled at the thought of running his own hands over him, and sending it to his father to watch this time. He would break Isshin Kurosaki and Kisuke Urahara. Urahara could pretend to be a psychiatrist all he wanted. Of course, Urahara had been careful not to be seen when he visited the office. The chance had been too attractive to see to his “nephew”.

Yes, oh the sweet revenge that would come of that. And Kisuke would crumble, and he would have the drug formula. And then, he would kill all three of them.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Grimmjow, I need to use the bathroom, please,” came the quiet request from the floor behind him. “And I seem to be a little dizzy still.”

Grimmjow smiled and helped the boy up, supporting him as they walked toward the bathroom. He sighed, helping him as he let him lean against him while he took care of his business. If the mirror had been in a better position, he might have seen the person in the bathroom, the flash of silver at the corner of his eye was all he saw as a crushing pain exploded in his head and the floor became much more desirable.

His eyes blinked slowly and he heard voices and pushed someone away that was shining a light in his eye. “Fuck off,” he muttered.

“Well, he’s fine,” came a muttered reply. Not really muttered just far away.

He groaned and cracked both eyes open and found himself on the couch in the conference room and his head was going to explode. The last he remembered he was in the bathroom helping…

“Ichigo!” he said, sitting so fast that his head swam violently and he had to lie back down.

He felt a secure hand on him and looked up to see Renji. “Whoa there, partner. Gotta calm down or we can’t help him at all.”

“Fuck!” he said loudly, pounding a fist into the couch. “Did anyone see anything?”

Rukia came over. “We found out what sunshine means.”

Grimmjow sat up slowly as Rukia handed her a badge. It was a division five badge. When he opened it, it read Sōsuke Aizen. He looked up slowly. “No. He was one of them?”

“Video caught him leaving the precinct with a wrapped bundle over his shoulder. We expect it was Ichigo.”

“So we’re back at the beginning?” Grimmjow sighed. “Why? Why would Sōsuke turn on the Shinigami?”

There was a gentle knock and they looked up to see the psychiatrist, Kisuke Urahara, a woman in a business suit with purple hair and dark skin, and Ichigo’s father. Kisuke smiled, removing his striped hat. “I’m afraid I haven’t been entirely truthful, and what I feared has come to pass. It seems that an old rivalry from my younger days has brought about some difficulties today.”

The woman stepped forward and put a hand out to Grimmjow. “Agent Jaegerjaquez, I’m Agent Yoruichi Shihōin, FBI. It seems that you have had the opportunity to stumble right in the middle of an old case, including my former partner, Isshin.”

Grimmjow blinked. FBI? He sighed. “Yeah, so it would be, come this way and you can fill us in.”

They were led into the conference room and Isshin was sat down at the head of the table beside the blond in the striped hat. The woman with the deep purple hair leaned back in her chair beside Isshin. In the span of a few minutes, they’d detailed the second kidnapping and assault and the one that had occurred this day. Isshin was tired looking. The man beside him put a hand on his shoulder. Grimmjow thought oddly that the touch was a little friendly for brothers.

 “Well,” Isshin said softly. “I suppose you should be filled in if we’re going to get my son back. The FBI has already put my daughters in protective custody so I don’t have to have what happened last time occur.”

Urahara nodded. “I’m Kisuke Urahara, known to Ichigo as his ‘uncle’, of course we’re not blood related. I became involved with Isshin after his wife was murdered,” the blond man said looking around, gauging reactions. “For all intents and purposes, Ichigo was never privy to the intimate nature of our relationship, and neither were others. I was simply the eccentric uncle in his life.”

“The truth is he’s a bloody genius,” Isshin supplied, looking at the other man fondly. “He’s an expert in chemistry as well as the brain. His credentials for psychiatry aren’t fake. Which is where I found him, in the employ of a drug lord, an underling of Yahweh, manufacturing drugs. It was a raid on one of the meth laboratories, and I found this idiot hiding in a storage closet. We took him in, and he offered to help us stop the operation. He’d never been willing to start with, Yahweh having captured him and forced him to work on new synthetics. He was on a list of missing chemists we had been working on at the time, which is what led us across state lines. The rest had all been found dead, and we were sure that there was no way he’d be alive still.”

Urahara nodded. “They wanted results, and while the others were good, I watched them all die because they weren’t ‘creative’ enough. The result from my tinkering was a terrible drug. I’m afraid that the opportunity of unrestricted experimentation did get to me, actually, but most of what I did was try to put them off. The results were terrible. The mortality of the smallest dose was fifty percent, and even then, the results were minimal unless the dosage was ramped up to insane amounts where mortality went to around seventy percent. But the results were godly,” Urahara said, thinking back. “Seriously godly. Those that lived were enhanced in all ways, speed, dexterity, heightened awareness, reflexes, and put in a state of euphoria and high suggestibility.”

It didn’t take long for the group around them to catch on. “A super soldier drug? That made the user unable to disobey?” Rukia said, leaning forward.

Urahara nodded. “Yeah, exactly. It was formulated into these small black pills, so I named it the hogyuku, because it shattered all bonds of reality. I never wrote the formula, not once. I had notes, but it was incomplete. I have photographic memory when it comes to formula, so it was not necessary. Everything I handed to Yahweh was incomplete. When I was found by the FBI, I took the formula with me. Unfortunately, with photographic memory, I can’t ever forget it, no matter how hard I try.”

“So, what does Aizen have to do with this?” Grimmjow said frowning, not liking where things were going. “Aizen is one of ours. At least, he’s supposed to be.”

“Sōsuke Aizen, like me, is research hungry, and once I was working with law enforcement, I was moved to a black location. I started working for the government with the hogyuku. Aizen was my partner. He started becoming suspicious, and I found out he was working out ways to use the partial formula to make new synthetic drugs. I left then and there. I know him; he still holds a grudge against me for leaving the work. There was nothing I could do, he was involved in the very law enforcement agency that was protecting me, so I wasn’t protected. I ran from Shinigami protection and hid.”

Grimmjow nodded. “So, what does he want? The formula?”

“And revenge,” Isshin said with a sigh. “Fifteen years, yes. But then I was married to my beautiful Masaki, who had just given birth to our twin girls. And once we had gotten our hands on Urahara, we went forward with our attempts to prosecute the drug ring that Yahweh was running. We ended up putting a huge dent in his operation, and in the process, one of the chemists, a woman named Momo Hinamori was killed in the crossfire. Turned out she was Aizen’s daughter. A couple years later, Ichigo was nine; my wife was murdered, leaving me to care for the three by myself. I had my suspicions, of course, that it was a hit. However, it was listed as a mugging gone wrong. Kisuke here helped me through it and became the crazy ‘uncle’ that the kids came to depend on in place of their mother.”

Urahara nodded. “I was hiding under an assumed name until recently, and he left the FBI and picked up his medical career again. I set up a small psych practice. It has been that long, and to have this come up here is a surprise. We thought we’d left this behind. But it seems he’s been following leads to get the formula back from me all along if he’s found his way here. My guess is there’s another leak.”

Yoruichi snorted. “And when I find whoever else is in on this, I’m going to kill them.”

“We don’t know who else is compromised if Aizen was,” Rukia said with a sigh as she looked up to see Ukitake coming into the room. “If he’s always been on the other side, we had no idea.”

Ukitake sighed as he sat down. “From now on, information in this room goes no further.”

Grimmjow swallowed. “What about Ichigo? He’s not in any condition to fend for himself, he almost drowned himself this morning, for fuck’s sake!”

He caught the flinch of the men at the end of the table but didn’t care. “Grimmjow, we can’t do anything until we track the bastard down.”

The blue haired agent didn’t like it. But if there was another leak, the last thing they could do was involve more officers. He nodded. “Nel and I will start searching the area, then. Maybe we can find some clues.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Are we set up?” the voice asked, it was cold and cruel and there was dripping malice and excitement lacing every word.

“Shall I stay, sir?” another voice, cold but with something underlying cool timbre of it.

“No, I want privacy for this. You can enjoy the resulting recording once I’m done here. Did you set out the tray of instruments?” the cold voice asked again.

“Of course, just as you requested.”

“No, I’ll take him to the brink. Before you leave, give me the syringe, and turn the camera on.”

The sound of a door closing reverberated through his body from knee to head. He shivered and eyes opened slowly, sluggishly. Something was wrong with his muscles. He yanked and found his arms bound by some shackles out to either side, and he was on his knees, feeling the muscle ache that came from being held up by his shoulders. He released a groan and blinked against the harsh lights.

“Ah, sweet prince, you’re awake,” the cold voice said in his ear, sending a shiver down his spine.

“Who…where…” he slurred, trying to look around.

There was a soft chuckle. “Here, say hello to the camera, prince,” the breath on his neck sent prickles through his skin.

“Camera?” he asked and looked up and found he was staring into the lens of a large, professional looking camera. Feeling was beginning to come back to him and he yanked against the restraints.

“Um, yes, say, ‘hi there daddy and uncle Kisuke’,” he purred into his ear.

Ichigo’s vision was clearing and he was in a perfectly white room. And was staring at the brown-haired man he remembered blearily from before. He was dressed in white, from head to toe, as well. Why was everything so white, he thought, staring around him. He felt the anger bubbling as Shiro was trying to force his way to the surface, the fighting instincts kicking in.

“Ha, not this time,” the brunette said, and a needle was jabbed into his thigh mercilessly, getting a shout. “I refuse to be a victim of a little adrenaline-fueled boy with dissociative personality disorder. That violent personality is nasty and doesn’t hold back. I’m surprised you didn’t kill the man of Yahweh’s last night. But this will quell any fight you have in you.”

A heady rush had filled him as his arms began to shake. He was wide awake, perfectly alert now, and the world was vibrantly clear around him, so clear that the white made his eyes hurt. But his muscles weren’t listening to his commands. Everything was too bright, too loud. He stared frantically at the man standing beside him, fiddling with things on a tray table he couldn’t see. Something about this man was familiar, but his mind was fighting him on trying to remember what it was. Why was he familiar?

“There, my prince, isn’t that a nice feeling?” he asked softly, leaning down and running a thin knife along the side of his face, making him freeze even in shaking. “I love drugs, you know, every aspect of them. Controlling the mind, the body, everything. They can make you feel good, and tear you apart, such a fine line. They can take you to heaven or throw you to the pits of hell to try and crawl your way out of. And all because I do it. Now what I gave you, oh it will make this nice and fun. You won’t pass out, you can’t, at least until blood loss causes it, but you’ll be able to scream, and you’ll feel every…little…touch.” With each word of the last he sliced through the t-shirt Grimmjow had put on him.

“Stop!” he said, meaning to sound loud and in charge. It came out in a squeak.

But stopping was not on this man’s mind as he worked the knife down the shirt exposing skin as he went. Then he started playing and flicking the blade leaving cuts no bigger than paper cuts with the razor sharp knife. He smiled and moved around behind, cutting across the shoulders until the remnants of the shirt slid off. His back was soon receiving the same treatment. Ichigo was desperately trying to call up his defenses but whatever was in the drug had him locked in place, even the insanity of the other personalities wasn’t able to help him. Then, he was licking and sucking at the bloody cuts, causing the boy to try and struggle and then stare at his betraying arms which would not move. A low whine escaped his nearly frozen lips.

“Ah, we’re just getting started, little prince.”

He heard the clink of metal on metal and the knife was gone, but now something thick and smooth was tracing it’s way over his back. There was a sharp smack and he jumped as burning heat flowed across his body. It was followed in quick succession by five more sharp, stinging slaps, and then he was in front of him with a long handled object with a flat piece at the end. He lifted it up and traced the flat of it against his chin.

“I’ve always loved riding crops. Something about the sound…” he muttered slapping his chest several times leaving him breathless.

There was a thunk and now hands slid the sweat pants downward to his knees. He tried to struggle against it, but he couldn’t even protest as a second later his legs were pulled out and he was stripped of the last of his clothes. He whimpered, and he hated it. Then the crop was back, tracing along his thighs where he was pulled into a kneeling position again, his face dropped as far as he could. Then to his shock, he took the crop and painted a series of welting stripes along his inner thighs.

He bit back the yelps of pain. He was going to refuse to give him the pleasure. But it didn’t deter him as he felt hands on one of his arms. He was humming now as he made his way down to where his hand emerged from the metal cuff. He looked down and smiled, and Ichigo was horrified to see him take his index finger and begin to twist it painfully. The pop and crack was enough to make his scream now. His breath was heavy and he thought surely that was all, but those merciless fingers curled around his middle finger.

“No!” he screamed, as he through his head back as the same crunching pop left him panting again. Years passed until each one of his fingers on his right hand had been reduced to a useless bunch of throbbing pain. He moved to the other side, and he desperately didn’t want to have the same treatment applied to that hand.

This time, though he reached down and caressed the hand, kissing each joint of his fingers in turn. Ichigo was confused. He reached behind him, and came back with one of those long lighters for a fire place, and Ichigo’s eyes went wide. Even under the drug he struggled to pull back the left hand, hearing the metallic click.  The world burned as he felt the searing flesh of each of his fingers and his hand. He wanted to pass out, but the drug was keeping him well and awake. The smell, he couldn’t handle the smell of his own flesh burning.

When he was done, finishing with the lighter clicking off, he was panting and covered in sweat. He looked up with wide eyes, wondering what this sadistic man was going to do now. He felt like he’d been here forever.

“Hmm, maybe I’ll enjoy your flesh again,” he whispered in his ear and now Ichigo knew him.

“Sunshine!” he barked out, only to be slapped hard.

“Perhaps…” he whispered, and all Ichigo could see was he man in the room, he one with the sunburst insignia on his chest… Sunshine. He was the sunshine.

His hand shut off the camera then, picking up and leaving. Into the night, only soft sobs could be heard until the awful drug wore off, and a sleep born of exhaustion, both physical and mental overtook Ichigo. Even then, in his sleep, though, hands pulled at the restraints that held him to the floor.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Uryū was sure that he was going to go out of his mind in the small confines of the cell. He’d slept two times when the door opened and he stood up hopefully.

“Who’s there?” He called.

“Shut up, idiot,” came a feminine sounding voice and Uryū saw a short girl with blonde hair sneak up to the bars. She had a paper cup in one hand and a sandwich in the other. “Here, quickly now, before I’m caught,” she hissed.

Uryū took the food and devoured it as fast as he could, sucking down the water in the cup without question. For all he knew, she could be poisoning him, but he didn’t care right then. He’d been in here long enough to be starving and he could have drunk a gallon of water, he figured. He handed the paper cup back to her and she took it, shoving it into the pocket of her tracksuit pants.

“Just hold onto yourself, glasses. One of their agents just came in with Yahweh’s prize, so things will be moving soon. There’s a bunch of us in here that work for the other side, so just be patient,” she said and disappeared outside the door again.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow grumbled as he wandered around the conference room, packing up the photos from the initial crime scenes. He still hated to look at them, considering that it was his own building in the background. It was really sick, though that he kid was going to be put under even more stress. He’d already hit his breaking point, and technically he was afflicted with a pretty heavy mental illness now. He didn’t see the eyes following him at first. Then he glanced down and met a set of eyes. They quickly moved away from him, and he felt a tickle of memory. Those eyes had been awfully interested in him lately. He made a mental note to ask the captain. He was busy and heard a knock at the door behind him. He looked up to see one of the girls from the front desk downstairs.

“Agent Jaegerjaquez?” she asked. “There was a delivery for you.”

He looked up and frowned, taking the small package. There was no return address, and the only thing on the front of the brown bubble wrap mailer was his own name. He turned it over and found it blank on the back.

“Who delivered this?” he asked softly.

She shook her head. “I don’t know sir, I was on the phone, and when I turned around I found it on my desk.”

He waved her off and looked it over. He’d wait until he hit the safe house before he even considered it. He shoved it into his coat and went about his work. They were supposed to meet at noon and he would show them what he’d gotten then. It took a bit, but finally he was headed over there and parked a block away. He slung the low backpack over his shoulder and walked up to the door of the apartment building, ringing the bell for the 13th floor. It popped open and he headed down the stairs into the basement. Technically, there was no 13th floor, but it was a signal for them to know that one of them was there.

He went down the stairs and found his way into a large basement with a huge table in the center. He looked up to find Isshin and Urahara musing over some paperwork and he shook his head to see how close they were sitting to each other. Every once in a while the dark haired man would reach up and try, with frustration, to push the blond’s hair out of his face. Then scowl as it fell right back. He huffed and began to unpack the last of the stuff. He felt something sharp and pulled out the package.

Urahara’s head shot up. “What’s that?”

Grimmjow shrugged. “Dunno, while I was packing up, girl from the front brought it, saying it showed up on her desk, addressed to me. Haven’t opened it…”

A silence settled. “What?”

“Sorry, I should have told you about this, you and Renji were gone when we were talking about this possibility…” Rukia said, taking the package and opening it carefully. Inside was a plain CD in a clear case.

Her hands shook a bit as she went to the computer and turned on the screen behind them. Grimmjow frowned and saw the abject terror on the face of the two older men as a figure filled the screen. It was Ichigo, arms splayed out, hanging by his wrists and completely unconscious. There was a voice in the background.

“King Kurosaki, and his consort Urahara, now is time to play. He’s chosen the consort to the kingdom, now we must trade. One consort for another, right? I’ve got a plaything…” his voice was high as he made his way in front of the camera, kneeling in front of the boy in a white suit.

“See, you’re out of luck right now. I’ve used this to make my move. You should know that if I’m showing my face, and giving you blatant evidence that I’m not afraid anymore of silly things like Shinigami or FBI. I’m beyond your reach. But your little boy, isn’t, Isshin. And you know, there is some part of me very glad you have such a pretty little boy, because I can easily replace my lovely little Momo.”

He walked around, and lifted Ichigo’s head. “You know, he’s completely insane, are you sure you want him back, Isshin? He’s a little deranged at the moment, but I guess having several guys go at him did that. Don’t worry, though, they can’t touch your little boy anymore. No, they can’t touch him,” he said, dropping the boy’s head. “Your opposing king has prohibited it, and King Yahweh is everything.” There was a moment when Aizen stared at the screen and his eyes clouded before he continued.

“No, please, enjoy the show. And remember, for every day you delay…I’ll send you another recording of our…adventures, King Kurosaki!”

The video blanked, shut off for a moment, then resumed with Aizen standing behind Ichigo’s head. He slowly yanked his arms and his head lolled to the size slowly, eyes flickering. He groaned in the video, obviously coming to wakefulness out of whatever he’d had that put him under.

Aizen was behind him and spoke directly in his ear now,        “Ah, sweet prince, you’re awake.”

“Who…where…” the voice said, thick and slurring.

Behind him, Aizen gave a wide grin and pushed his head upward to look directly into the camera. “Here, say hello to the camera, prince.”

Ichigo’s face scrunched up and he focused in front of him. “Camera?” As he said it he started pulling at the shackles that held his wrists.

“Um, yes, say, ‘hi there daddy and uncle Kisuke’,” Aizen said smirking behind his ear.

They watched as he blinked and Grimmjow held a grin, he knew that look, when someone else was going to take over, as he glanced around the white room.

But then, Aizen reached behind him and picked up a syringe and said smiling, “Ha, not this time.” He jabbed the syringe into his leg, causing him to yell in surprise. “I refuse to be a victim of a little adrenaline fueled boy with dissociative personality disorder. That violent personality is nasty and doesn’t hold back. I’m surprised you didn’t kill the man last night. But this will quell any fight you have in you.”

They watched as his head shot up and his whole body began to shake, his eyes wide and franticly looking around the room.

“There, my prince, isn’t that a nice feeling?” Aizen said and was running a sharp, thin knife along his face. “I love drugs, you know, every aspect of them. Controlling the mind, the body, everything. They can make you feel good, and tear you apart, such a fine line. They can take you to heaven or throw you to the pits of hell to try and crawl your way out of. And all because I do it. Now what I gave you, oh it will make this nice and fun. You won’t pass out, you can’t, at least until blood loss causes it, but you’ll be able to scream, and you’ll feel every…little…touch.”

They watched in complete horror as he proceeded to use the sharp knife to make bloody cuts up and down his front and back, until the floor was a dripping puddle. Ichigo protested, but it seemed to not do any good as he flicked his knife expertly. Then he stopped and began to lick the blood off his body, slowly and he was already whining at it.

“Ah, we’re just getting started, little prince.”

Everyone was frozen in place as Aizen proceeded to abuse him with a riding crop it seemed, muttering about how he loved the sound of them. Then, he yanked away the rest of the boy’s clothes, and proceeded to leave bright red welts across the inside of his thighs. He was panting and trying very hard to quiet the yelps that were escaping him. Then he stopped and moved to his hand and everyone winced as he started to break his fingers. Rukia’s hand went to her mouth, and she looked like she was going to be sick by the he was done, and then really did run from the room when he started burning the flesh on his other hand. When he was done, Ichigo was panting, wide eyed and covered with dripping sweat and blood. Rukia had come back and was standing in the doorway, watching with that same look on her face as Aizen turned to him and moved behind him.

He turned the camera off and it fizzed, coming to life again, showing his face in an office of some sort.

“The choice is yours. Receive daily…updates…or give me Isshin Kurosaki and Kisuke Urahara. How long can you tolerate the treatment I’m giving him? And yes, while the torture was excruciating it will only get worse. You know what I’m capable of, don’t you Kisuke? I haven’t even gotten out most of my tools. And yes, before you ask, while his hands were a fun pastime for me, it was critical. It is harder to fight when you can’t use your hands. And I’ll deal with his lower extremities in my next communique. Because, broken limbs are harder to run with. Not that he could find a way out of here,” he said, and turned off the camera again.

There was a long silence that no one wanted to break. Everyone was far too horrified by what they’d seen.


	8. Sweet Waters

 

“I know who our other plant is,” Grimmjow said suddenly.

They had just watched the video and they were sure that things were about to get back. Who knew what their futures held now? With Yahweh holding both Ichigo and Uryū? There was bound to be something that could be done for both of their missing men.

Everyone looked at him. “What do you mean?” Rukia asked frowning.

“I mean, I’m pretty sure, I think I know. I don’t know why I realized it sooner. He was always too close, too observant when Ichigo was there, and he always managed to stay in the front whenever we were in the conference room. I may be wrong, and if I am, we’re going to get in a shit load of trouble, but I think it’s that little blond bastard, Tesla,” he said, looking around. They’d brought in Renji from Byakuya’s division as a safe man for this group. Nel was up doing visible work for the two of them, so that gave Grimmjow the freedom he needed to work anything on or off the books.

Rukia looked thoughtful for a moment. She couldn’t authorize any action, Grimmjow knew. But she could give them an indication of what she needed them to do. She looked up at Grimmjow and nodded.

“I’m not sure what you mean, detective, but whatever you do on your off time, is your business, of course,” she said, giving him a meaningful glance. “I’m sure Urahara and Kurosaki could use a drink, why don’t you and Renji show them a good time while we investigate where this video came from.”

It didn’t take another moment before Grimmjow stood. He went to his desk and left his badge in it, fingering the hilt of Pantera as he went. Renji followed him, dropping his own things into the drawer. This was an off the books run, and if they were caught, they knew that their captain wouldn’t be able to help them. They didn’t intend to be caught. They intended to find out what Tesla knew, by any means necessary. They had to confirm where Ichigo and Uryū were being kept.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

The blond-haired agent opened his eyes slowly. He felt like he’d been hit by a truck. He tried to move but heard the clink of handcuffs. He opened his eyes fully and found himself in a metal chair, hands cuffed to the arms, ankles cuffed to the legs. He looked up to see Grimmjow and Renji leering at him along with two older men.

“What the hell, Jaegerjaquez?” he muttered, looking around.

Renji smiled. “We had some questions for you, and well, actually, we didn’t, but this man does,” he waved the dark-haired man over.

“Who are you?” Tesla asked with a frown. He’d never seen him before.

“Isshin Kurosaki. You might know my son, Ichigo, the one you helped Aizen get out of here for Yahweh,” he said, eyeing the man.

In that moment, Tesla knew he was dead. Well and completely dead. No matter how this went. If he talked to this man, Yahweh would kill him. If he didn’t, this was the kid’s father who he just handed over to torture and possible death. Great.

“Look, I’m dead either way, so just shoot me,” he muttered, looking away.

“Where would the fun in that be?” Grimmjow asked with a smirk.

A few hours later, Grimmjow and Renji escorted a groggy and less than stable handcuffed mole from the warehouse to a waiting squad car. He looked at Isshin with a smirk.

“I can’t believe it was that easy,” Grimmjow said.

Isshin chuckled. “Well, the right drugs go a long way to loosening lips, you know.”

They had a confirmed and hot destination. Now it was a matter of getting there before Ichigo had to endure another round of torture, or worse. Isshin was already on the phone making arrangements for them to meet at the location. This was on the scope of the FBI and now a team was being called in to help. They could get in and rescue them both. At least, they hoped.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo’s eyes opened slowly, and things were whirling madly in his brain.

 _Get up, dumb ass_ , a familiar voice whispered. _Get up and get out of here_.

 _He is right, you have to move_ , another voice, this one calmer.

“I can’t,” he muttered, trying to move his hands and shocks of pain shooting through him. He couldn’t decide if the burns or the broken fingers hurt more. His whole body ached and stung.

Just then the door opened and he saw the grin of his torturer.

“Well, ready to play again, my sweet prince?” he asked, dropping the camera to the stand and flicking it on.

Ichigo shook his head, willing the world to fade as he squeezed his eyes closed only to feel the stab and rush of sensation through his body. He looked up, eyes wide.

“You’re wondering how I’m quelling your little personalities, aren’t you? See this,” he said holding up a vial. “It is a wonderful cocktail, a stimulant, an antipsychotic, and a few other things. Things you give crazy people, like you,” he said and put it back down. “See, you got things all mixed up in your head when Vermillion Rose combined with the trauma you received. Fractured you.”

He walked around him, still prone on his stomach, hands hooked into the ring on the floor, both bright red and swollen. Aizen grinned. “You are irresistible. You remember me from that first time, I did hate to have to shoot you.”

“You were there the first time, in that storeroom…” Ichigo whispered, shivering as he caressed his back gently.

“Sunshine, yes, that’s where you got that from, isn’t it?” he asked and showed him the sunburst insignia from his badge. “And Rainfall, that came from the cases of that vitamin that Vermillion Rose was being injected into. Quite impressive for a brain being scrambled. Either way, time for your new consort to have some fun with you, my little prince. Your real king awaits.”

“What about Uryū?” Ichigo growled as Aizen got him to his feet. “You have me, now let him go!”

“Ah, well, that’s up to your king, now isn’t it?” Aizen asked as he led him stumbling through the halls and to the same room again where Yahweh sat on his throne. Aizen hook Ichigo’s chain to a ring in the floor and smirked. “Now, have fun, sir. My toys should be arriving soon.”

Yahweh stood and loomed over Ichigo’s prone form. “Ah, my consort, shall we consummate our union?” he growled low in his throat.

“No, please, anything but that…not again…please!” Ichigo pleaded, pulling away as hands yanked his hips upward until he was on his knees, his face planted to the floor between his sprawled arms.

“Yes, the blood is a nice effect,” Yahweh confirmed, positioning himself and entering with a sharp snap of his hips.

Ichigo let out a choked scream, the pain again searing through him. He sobbed into his arms, unable to find the strength to scream out now until he did something that made a gasping moan emit from his mouth instead. There was a chuckle behind him as he proceeded to drill into that same spot, sending shocking pleasurable sparks through his brain.

“Seems you’re starting to enjoy this, constort,” he said, increasing his pace until Ichigo thought he was going to come undone at the overwhelming feeling rushing through him. He’d never felt anything like it, and he didn’t want it at all, but his body completely betrayed him as he felt himself under strong arousal.

“No, stop…” he tried to choke out but it was cut off when a hand gripped him strongly and began to pump him in time with the thrusts behind and he found himself spilling over the hand, wracked with the horrible pleasure that his body seemed to want him to have. He slumped forward, feeling the horrid warmth spread into him, and he sobbed even harder than before.

Yahweh moved, straightening his clothes and there was a large explosion somewhere in the distance that shook the building they were in. Ichigo was already fading, even the stimulant wasn’t enough to keep him from slipping into unconsciousness this time.

“My consort, it seems we have uninvited guests. Perhaps we won’t have to deal with them,” he said as he then unhooked Ichigo’s limbs from the chains.

A few seconds passed and a blond man with a wide grin came into the room to retrieve the “consort” to be bathed while he was unconscious. Beside him was a rotund man with pink hair. They easily lifted he light boy between them and disappeared into the washing chambers. In short order, he was washed clean, bandaged, and placed in a yukata. The hands, they couldn’t do anything about right then, but they could help with the rest.

“Shinji to Hiyori, outside is getting hot. Are you and Lisa ready for the inner levels?” he said to seemingly thin air.

“Ready. Glasses-kun will be out before your lot breathes fresh air.”

“Affirmative,” he said as he and Hachi lifted the boy and returned him to Yahweh’s throne room. Another explosion could be heard in the distance.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

The plan was deceptively simple. And effective. Urahara and Isshin had a lot of friends in a lot of places after the years. It had been easy to pull strings to make thing happen relatively fast. It wasn’t fast enough for the blue haired agent who waiting outside the large compound for the explosions to rock the west side of the small enclosed area. They were in a new area, unsurprisingly they had moved from the location that had been where Ichigo was the first time.

There was an ambulance already waiting there, two actually. They were ready for anything when they pulled him out. But Grimmjow could care less about everyone else as he waited. He knew that every minute Ichigo spent there was another minute driving him deeper into his own mind, and would make it more difficult to get him to come from his self-imposed prison.

Finally, two successive explosions rocked the largest building and they got the go ahead. Everyone took off toward the building. Grimmjow and Renji as well as a couple others that Isshin had gotten to help were armed and armored as they entered he compound. Everything was black ops, so there was no official record. That also meant that if he accidently killed the fucker, no one would be the wiser. He grinned just thinking about ending the bastard that had put Ichigo through hell.

They saw the mansion up ahead and waved the group around. A quick firefight later, and the guards were down and the red head and blue haired agent were over the fence and the walls. They split up then, in contact via a communicator device with Nel as a go between. They heard Byakuya on the coms as well. They encountered servants that scurried at the sight of a gun, but no other resistance. They imagined that the explosions had drawn most their people to the warehouses where their stock in drugs and guns were kept.

Door after door flew open, revealing empty rooms after empty rooms. Both men came skidding around the corners of the second floor to face each other. There was one other room before they would head to the third floor, and Grimmjow felt his heart in his chest. Something…

He smelled the air, and the scent of blood. He snapped his head toward Renji and pointed to the door. He was sure that this was the right place. He reached out and found the door locked. It was the only locked door they’d found, so he was even more sure that he had the right place. He stepped back, holstering Pantera while Renji took up a defensive position and came down with one foot into the lock, splintering it in one shot. A gasp on the other side made his heart leap.

The door swung open and he grimaced.

“Fuckin’ hell,” he muttered and ran into the room, Renji following with a gasp.

There was no one there, but this was the room the video had been taken, and it was a mess.

They came into another room, though and found who they were looking for.

“Yahweh, give him to me,” Grimmjow growled, leveling Pantera at the tall dark-haired man who sat on a throne in the center. The thing was, Grimmjow had been in the other empty building and it looked exactly the same on the inside.

“You want my consort?” Yahweh asked and smiled. “He is damaged by your standards, but to me he is perfect. He’ll be taken care of. A survivor of Vermillion Rose is rare.”

“You’ve been taken down, Yahweh,” Renji said with a growl to his voice. “Everything is falling down.”

“Then I should leave this world with my consort?” Yahweh had produced a knife and held it at Ichigo’s exposed neck above steel collar. “His flesh tasted particularly sweet.”

“Put him down. You won’t leave here alive if you kill him,” Grimmjow snapped before he thought.

“I don’t intend to live past this night anyway,” Yahweh said with a smirk. “At least not in this body!” He held up a pill in his fingers and dropped it in his mouth. Then he seemed to produce another and forced it into Ichigo’s slack mouth. His eyes fluttered and opened.

“Grimm?” he whispered. “Are you really here?”

“I am, just don’t worry,” Grimmjow said as Yahweh tightened his hold on the chain they could now see attached to the back of collar.

Suddenly, Yahweh’s body jerked, and the half dissolved pill in Ichigo’s mouth flew out.

“I see…God! I am…GOD!” Yahweh screamed, hands going to his eyes and clawing at them until blood flowed down his face. “I AM GOD!” he shouted and then jerked and fell to the floor in a violent convulsion.

Grimmjow had no time for him as he ran to Ichigo and looked around him where he’d fallen to the floor in front of the throne.

“Ren, look for a key dammit,” he pleaded.

“Here,” he heard and there was something in his hand. He used it to unlock the collar and then realized it was someone he didn’t know. A blonde man with a smirk.

“Captain Shinji Hirako, undercover ops, at yer service. Let’s hurry, he rigged this place to blow up,” Shinji said and Grimmjow didn’t need to be told twice. He hefted Ichigo up into his arms and then paused.

As he started unhooking Ichigo’s hands, Grimmjow spoke up. “Is that you or someone else in there, Ichigo?”

“They…they can’t come out…whatever he gave me…it keeps them…away…” he panted, still in obvious pain, pulling his hands up toward his chest. They were cleaned but it was easy to tell that they were mangled.

A couple clicks and Ichigo’s hands were freed. He held them to his chest, shaking violently. Grimmjow reached up as Renji threw him a blanket. He quickly wrapped him up and hefted him easily.

“Ichi, yer gonna have to hang on, okay, we’re gettin’ ya outta here, but it might be a bit bumpy…so I’m sorry if I hurt ya, okay?” Grimmjow said as Renji checked the hall before waving them out.

Ichigo nodded, and to Grimmjow’s surprise, he burrowed his head into him deeper. He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips as they ran for all they were worth. Renji reported back that the objective was cleared and they were on their way.

 “Uryū!”

“Taken care of, now, come on!”

As they to the ambulance, the place did indeed go up in a controlled explosion. “Shit!” Renji said, pulling the radio from his ear. “Run, fuck, run!” They got blocked inside the fence and were forced to wait there. Ichigo had passed out as they ran. Renji fell to the ground panting as soon as they weren’t in immediate danger.

“Okay, so the next time I bitch about being forced to take a heavy ass backpack full of survival shit, remind me of today when we actually are fuckin’ going to be using it,” Renji panted, pulling the bag off his back and digging around for the water canteen.

Grimmjow put Ichigo on the softest patch he could find and covered him as best he could, but he was still shivering and he could feel heat radiating off him already. No doubt he was going to get sick without medical treatment. He wasn’t sure that the first aid kit was going to be of much help… He pulled out the radio and tuned it to the emergency frequency they’d sat up.

“Panther to Shark base,” he said, rolling his eyes at the stupid code language they’d decided on.

“Shark base to Panther, what is your status?” came the familiar voice of Isshin.

“Objective is code red, stable currently. We are in the western side of the outer garden caught in a fall between the fence and rubble. Advise?” he answered, wincing. Red meant he was more hurt or sick than they had last seen and needed immediate medical attention but was in no immediate danger of dying. Blue was he was in the same condition as they expected, and orange meant they were in danger of him dying immediately.

“Instructions in kit. Shark base is reporting to Cat’s Claws. Shark base out. We’ll be there to get you shortly, Panther.”

The line went dead and he put the receiver into the bag, digging out the large first aid kit. He looked at Renji’s and noticed this one had been specially packed. He rooted around and found first aid for the known injuries. Four finger splints with tape, burn creams and sprays, and a ton of antibiotic ointment, gauze and tape. Thankfully, Shinji or someone had already bandaged much of the wounds. Grimmjow picked up the broken hand and bit his lip, rummaging further into it until his hand found a vial and a syringe. He picked it up and eyed it in the dim light.

“Thank you,” he breathed. Renji looked at him with a cocked eyebrow.

He held it up. “Morphine.”

Renji nodded as he struggled to figure out how much to give him. Renji held up the booklet and realized notes were scribbled into it. “Hey, looks like Isshin gave us instructions. Take the syringe fill it to…um here, let me do it,” he said, taking it and filling it to the appropriate line.

“Okay, now give it to him a thick muscle, thigh or buttocks are preferable for intra muscular,” Renji read, looking up.

Grimmjow nodded and pressed the needle into his thigh after lifting the blanket. He injected the liquid, getting a moan and fluttering eyes out of him. He nodded to Renji to continue his instructions.

“Let’s see, wait about fifteen minutes, then we’re supposed to set and splint the fingers,” he said and looked up suddenly.

“I can’t do that! What, that’s as painful as breaking them…” Grimmjow stammered.

Renji snickered. “Hence the morphine idiot, and it says here if they aren’t straightened and splinted as soon as possible, he may have to have them rebroken to heal correctly, so we’ve gotta do it, man. I’ll help.”

They waited the fifteen minutes then followed the written instructions on setting the broken bones, wincing at every whine Ichigo made. He was semi awake, but completely out of it on the morphine. Finally, all four fingers were splinted and wrapped with gauze, then the whole hand was wrapped up and covered with an instant plaster that had been included in the kit. It made it a semi-hard cast that would at least offer some protection until he could get into a real hospital.

“Onward to the burns,” Renji said and began reading the procedures, making Grimmjow cringe at the process for cleansing them before treating them. And apparently, depending on the degree of the burn, there would be a chance even the morphine wouldn’t help with the pain. However, Isshin was adamant that this be done, or else the infection would go to his blood and he’d die before even getting home.

This was the reason they’d brought so much water. Ichigo wasn’t silent for that, as some of the burns were deep enough to possibly require a graft when they returned. Luckily, they were only on the one hand, so the surface covered was small, and it was only in patches that the burn was deep enough. Finally, when they were cleaned and dressed, Grimmjow just held him in his lap.

Grimmjow was glad that he had been cleaned up already, but as they were fixing his hands, he saw some of the bandages needing to be changed already so they took care of it by just changing all of them. He honestly couldn’t believe the cruelty that led to the amount of cuts on him. The cuts to his chest and back were mostly superficial, but they were cleaned and bandaged now, with a thick wrapping of bandages covering most his torso and upper arms. There were welts and some deeper wounds from the crop that had been used, and his inner thighs carried heavy striping of being hit with the crop. Those were treated and wrapped. Deep contusions and scratches decorated his hips and buttocks, and were quickly treated and covered as well as they could. By the time they were done, most the bandages had been used, and they hoped that no more than a day or two passed since they didn’t have enough to change them again.

As he finished he heard the radio squawk and picked it up. “Panther here. Status is green currently, any chance for fishing?”

“Fishing confirmed. They’ve located you and are cutting through the fencing to your left. Step back.”

“Confirmed.”

After a few tense minutes, they were helped through a moderate sized hole in the heavy fencing and realized how lucky they were. A little less luck, and they would have been crushed. As they got to the ambulance, Grimmjow felt Ichigo move.

He groaned a little and opened his eyes to lock gazes with Grimmjow.

“Hey, sleeping beauty,” Grimmjow huffed.

“Grimm, so tired, where are we…” he muttered, blinking slowly as he tried to look around.

“We’re on our way out, okay?” Grimmjow said, brushing his hair out of his face.

Ichigo nodded. “Okay, if you say so. Shiro and Tensa say hi, but Zan’s asleep,” he muttered, rolling his head into Grimmjow’s chest. He stepped up into the ambulance and put Ichigo on the gurney.

Grimmjow frowned at that. “You can talk to them?” he asked softly and noticed that the paramedics didn’t even try to get him to move.

“Hmmm.  Yeah, they’re part of me, stupid. Of course, I can talk to them,” he muttered.

“I think the morphine is loosening him up a bit about this, Grimm,” Renji said, smiling at him as he hopped into the back of the ambulance as well, much to the irritation of the EMTs.

“Ichigo, what do you mean they’re part of you?” Grimm continued, not about to waste the opportunity.

Ichigo almost dozed off but came back. “You know, they’re me. Zan was most like me; well he is me, the me that lives in my head all the time. Tensa is the me that lives in the now all the time. And then Shiro is the me I’ve never let out before, the one I’m scared of.”

“Scared of? But he’s still you,” he said softly.

“Shiro likes violence and sex, two things I wouldn’t let myself have any part of,” he mumbled. “He likes sweets and alcohol and all the vices you know, all the stuff that feels good. He really likes whatever this stuff you gave me is…but then so do I since he’s me, you know…” he said, blinking slowly again.

Grimmjow nodded. “You never let yourself have those things, those pleasures, and Shiro is everything that you repressed, huh?”’

Ichigo nodded, eyes hazy with the opiate. “Yeah…the me that wants you to fuck me silly.”

Grimmjow snorted and Renji suppressed a giggle. “Shiro seems to want everyone to fuck him silly, Ichigo.”

“Hrm, yeah, but only cuz he wants you to listen to him…wants you to get jealous…” he said slowly, slipping into sleep again.

Renji looked at Grimmjow. “You know, they say you can’t really lie under this stuff…so I’ve heard.”

Grimmjow shook his head. “You know I can’t even think of taking him up on that sort of thing, Ren. He’s not in any shape to have a relationship until he heals.

Renji grinned. “Sometimes, the best way to heal is to be loved, you know. Let’s go if we’re getting there before noon.”

Renji sat down beside Grimmjow on the long bench as one of the EMTs got in. They complained but not too much about the two agents.

Grimmjow sighed, putting a hand against Ichigo’s head and smiled. “Don’t think I’m gonna be letting you go anytime soon, Ichi-berry,” he whispered, and beside him, Renji gave a smile as they headed toward the hospital.


	9. Waterfall Dreams

 

The fact that everything had gone to hell so quickly had surprised Aizen. He supposed when you work with a man who believes a drug based off a super-soldier formula he half remembered is some sort of God Pill, you take the chance of everything falling to pieces. He’d just barely gotten out of there before the whole place went up, and with it, all the evidence against Yahweh and his people. Many had scattered, and he was sure that if he got himself to safety, perhaps a nice no extradition country, he could rebuild a better empire than Yahweh had ever had before him.

“Revenge was yer downfall, yah know,” came a voice from behind him.

“Gin, I wondered if you would follow me when things went south,” Aizen commented and turned to see the man wearing his white suit. His badge was still displayed. “Or do you think you’re going to take me in? I can’t imagine you betraying me.”

“Yah can’t imagine a lot,” Gin said with a sigh. “Why the revenge thing, though?”

“Masaki.” Aizen paused and looked away. “She was Momo’s mother. She would have been jst slightly older than Ichigo.”

“Ah, all becomes clear,” Gin muttered. “The reasonin’ behind yer obsession with Isshin never made much sense. Urahara, ya, but Isshin Kurosaki… Now I see. She left yah high and dry for him, and yah kept the baby and remarried. Then when it were Isshin’s operation that killed her, you wanted him dead.”

Aizen nodded, pausing and pulling a gun on Gin, only to find the sly man had one trained on him already. “You are betraying me.”

“Nah, yah betrayed us. I’ve been on the other side all this time. M’love, m’Rangi, she knew and no one else. I played yah good though,” he smiled, eyes shining blue as he turned them on Aizen.

“How does this end, then?” Aizen asked, the gun level and unwavering.

“Well, one or both of us walk outta here, what do yah say?”

_Bang._

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

When they arrived at the hospital, Ichigo was taken off the ambulance to other points. Renji and Grimmjow headed to the waiting room to find Isshin and Urahara already waiting there for them. Nel also stood waiting for her partner to return. They greeted them with a hug each.

“Grimmjow, thank you so much, you and Renji brought him back, and I’ll forever be grateful,” Isshin said with a smile.

“Won’t matter if he doesn’t wake up,” Grimmjow said sullenly.

They looked up to see a nondescript doctor come out. “Mr. Kurosaki?” he said.

“Doctor, actually. How’s my son?” he asked.

“Well, the first aid was exemplary, so we are glad to say there were no infections or foreign objects in the wounds. The burns will be the longest to heal, but I don’t think he’ll require skin grafts. He does have several sets of stitches from the knife cuts. Some of the previous stitching he had was cut away so we had to re-stitch several of the older gashes. His fingers were splinted well, so we just wait for them to heal. I did have to do some internal stitching, so he’s on a soft diet for at least the next week, and those will dissolve.”

Isshin nodded. “Very well, I’ll see to everything else once we get him to the safe house. How long are you keeping him in patient?”

The doctor looked thoughtful. “At least until tomorrow, and only release then because you are a doctor and taking him to a safe location.”

Of course, the doctor didn’t include the call he’d gotten from someone asking about an orange haired man being admitted. After dealing with his injuries he was not about to hand him over to the people who no doubt had given him the injuries. So, he’d said that there had been none admitted and silently altered the paperwork to reflect a man with red dyed hair (not orange, just plain red). He’d report his presence tomorrow after he was gone, and hopefully save himself, and the kid, from a painful death.

Grimmjow set up in the room with his fractured…friend? Is that what he was? He wasn’t sure that friend qualified for someone who woke you up with a blowjob one morning. Something seemed a tad off about that description. No, the blue haired agent had to admit to having strong feelings for him, even in his fractured state. He was about to doze off when he heard a derisive snort from the bed. His head shot up and he was staring into the brown eyes of Ichigo. Or one of the personalities.

“Oi, blue baby,” Shiro then. “Good one, yah, getting us out. That sucked.”

Grimmjow frowned. “Why couldn’t you fight back?”

Shiro grinned. “Well, see the problem with being fuckin’ nuts like us, the use of antipsychotics tends to shut us down. Fucker knew that, so he pumped Ichi with drugs to keep us from coming to the surface.”

Grimmjow hadn’t thought of that. “So even if Ichigo doesn’t want to come to the surface, using drugs will force him?”

Shiro’s eyes widened. “Blue, don’t think about it. Bad idea right now. We’re his only defense from himself. Unless ya wanna deal with slit wrists or a gunshot wound to the head, don’t force us away.”

He nodded, knowing the attempted drowning had scared him that meant… “So Ichigo is suicidal.”

Shiro nodded. “Yeah, so he’s hiding and sleeping, but some of it is our doing because he’s broke as fuck right now. Well, of course he’s broke as fuck, why else would ah be here,” he said with a wide grin. “He was right though. I am only concerned with you fuckin’ me silly.”

Grimmjow blinked but before he could say anything, the changeover happened. “Danger still lingers close, friend,” came Zangetsu’s mellow voice. “I fear for what remaining sanity we have. Be wary, when we no longer speak to you, things will have changed.”

He closed his eyes and faded back into sleep or unconsciousness, and it was almost like Grimmjow had to wonder if he had actually seen and heard him speak. The nurses the next day argued he was too sedated to do so. Now, it was morning, and if he responded to the stimulants and became conscious, they were leaving for another safehouse. There was little else to do with Sōsuke Aizen still out there.

The stimulant worked and he opened his eyes slowly, almost like they were too heavy. “Hum, rainfall before the sunshine, blue skies under the setting sun,” he muttered nearly incoherently. Then he blinked and his eyes opened and they were clear. He looked around to the nurses.

“Tha fuck is goin’ on, was havin’ a fuckin’ good dream, gods be damned!” he proclaimed. The younger nurse blushed and the older gave him a stern glare.

“Mr. Kurosaki!” the elder said.

Shiro rolled his head over his shoulders. “Wha’s tha big deal, sweetie? I love those nurse outfits, maybe I should go and buy me one…if I could ever get blue boy to fuck me. Hey blue, you fuck me in a nurse’s dress? Please, blue?”

Grimmjow groaned and let out a long-suffering sigh. “Shiro, give me Tensa, or Zangetsu, now, I can’t deal with you right now. It has been a long couple days.”

Both nurses glanced between them. “Ah Blue, yer so fun to rile up and all I wanna do is get you to put what I know is a nicely endowed cock where I want it to go…though suckin’ yer cock was pretty fun, specially the face ya made when ya woke up with my mouth on ya…” He trailed off, eyes blanking.

“Apologies,” came the smooth baritone timbre of Tensa’s voice. “It seems Shiro is a little wound up today. I will endeavor to keep him at bay.”

“Thank you Tensa, I think the nurses would appreciate doing their job in peace without Shiro’s constant sexual innuendo,” Grimmjow said, settling back into the chair. “Or, explicit sexual insinuations. He doesn’t really bother with innuendo, does he?”

The younger nurse stared at the patient. “Wait, what happened here?”

Tensa looked at her and the other confused nurse. “Ichigo sleeps, currently, or rather we force him to sleep to avoid chances of him committing self-harm or suicide. We, Shiro, I and one other, Zangetsu, are splinters of his personality. We take over at various times. I suppose it is most commonly referred to as multiple personality disorder by the laymen. We are self-aware, however, that we are the same individual. And we are very aware that the trauma we endured triggered the fracture. Once we are confident that Ichigo will be able to cope, we simply will revert to our position within his personality. For now, however, we are separate entities, each one serving a purpose.”

The older nurse scoffed. “What purpose does the vile and vulgar one serve? That was completely inappropriate behavior.”

Tensa tilted his head thoughtfully. “Shiro serves base instincts. Violence, sex, hedonism, all the things that Ichigo has denied himself. Since those things have never been indulged, he is quite strong and wishes to answer the urges that Ichigo has kept in check. Considering that Ichigo has purely been asexual in nature before he was attacked and raped, he has been repressed quite deeply. He serves his purpose greatly, after all, his anger and violence managed to get us out of captivity and disable one of our rapists, Zangetsu managed to stay him from killing. Unfortunately, the second time we were captured, they knew about Shiro and drugged Ichigo to suppress us and he was helpless.”

The older nurse was unsure what to say as his eyes blinked and opened again.

“Fuck you, Tensa,” he snarled, glaring at Grimmjow. “Seriously, he is such a fuckin’ downer! I swear, always draggin’ my ass down just when I’m fuckin’ gettin’ some fun. God dammit to fuckin’ hell, next thing fuckin’ Zan is gonna show up and be all philosphising and shit.”

Grimmjow sighed and rubbed his head. “Shiro, please, restrain yourself.”

Shiro snorted. “Fine, if ya ain’t gonna let me even fuckin’ talk, I’m fuckin’ goin’ ta sleep.”

Another blank look and he uttered a deep sigh. “They must fight all the time,” the distinct sound of Zangetsu’s voice came. “It is quite tiring in the end.”

Grimmjow looked up. “Zan, aren’t you guys cycling a bit much today?”

He shrugged. “The drugs have affected the ability to concentrate and retain control. It is…difficult to resist the urges coming from Ichigo.”

Grimmjow frowned and stood. “Urges?”

Zangetsu nodded. “He’s trying to force control but we cannot let him have control, not after the last episode. He will kill us.”

Grimmjow sighed. “So, not only is the person in my protective custody a severely traumatized rape and torture victim with multiple personality disorder, he’s aggressively suicidal at the moment and still has fuckin’ Aizen after him so we can’t admit him to a psych ward. Any thoughts, Zan?”

Zangetsu nodded. “I will try to retain control, but do not leave us alone. It will end badly, and I’m afraid quite quickly if he has his way.”

The two nurses looked at Grimmjow. “Who are you anyway?”

“Agent Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Shinigami. Ichigo, and his other selves, is my case, and he’s been left in my care by his father while his mental state is unstable,” he said nodding to them.

The younger just stared at him. “I’ve never seen something like this… It is really like three completely different people.”

“Of course, my dear,” Zan said with a smile. “Think of the fracture in Freudian terms. I represent superego, Tensa represents ego, and Shiro represents id. Quite simple really. I only hope that we can heal enough to reintegrate into one single personality. The separate nature is quite troublesome and exhausting. Especially when trying to quell Shiro’s appetite for sex, violence, sweets, and alcohol.”

“Oh? Sweets and alcohol?” the younger nurse asked with a smirk.

Zan nodded. “Oh, my yes, if it is a vice that young Ichigo has kept away from, Shiro wants to experience it. He quite liked the drugs, the morphine, that is, and enjoyed the other opiates. He is quite interested in trying other illicit substances. Ichigo is…was…pre-med after all. He had all intentions of following his father into the medical field. So, it was that he kept well clear of anything that could ruin his chances of complete success.”

The older nurse smiled. “It is a shame, what happened, sweetheart,” she said, softening her look.

He nodded. “Ichigo weeps, thrashes, and wails in here,” he said, pointing to his head. “Dreams of cutting these wrists and letting the crimson flow. Dreams of stealing the weapon on the detective’s belt and placing it in this mouth and pulling the trigger to paint the wall. Dreams, wishes, writhes against the bonds we’ve imposed. And the water, the water leaks and drips and slides down through the silver sage’s sunset of brilliant orange and brightness like no other explodes…” Zan’s voice was wavering changing, and Grimmjow blinked leaning forward.

“Ichigo?” he whispered. “Are you there?”

The brown eyes were hollow and tearful as he turned. “Please…no more.”

“Ichigo, we got you out, remember? Don’t…”

Ichigo looked down at his arm where the IV ran into him. With a smooth move, he ripped it out of his arm and yanked away the monitors, crawling over the bedrail and landing on the floor in a thump. A constant keening of “No, no, no,” fell from his lips as he crawled toward the wall, eyes flittering every which way as the two nurses watched in fascination.

“Ah, no, can’t live like this, kill me,” he muttered. “The pain, the rainfall, no sunshine, no rainfall, no can’t find the blue and can’t let go,” he spoke louder the longer he spoke. “No rainfall, need the smell, need the smell of rainfall, before the sun goes down…”

Grimmjow was off the chair and following him as he muttered and looked around the room.

“Ichigo, stop!” he called.

He turned and locked eyes, brown with blue. “Grimm, Grimm, take it away, I’m so sorry, I love…I love you…but I’m going to die in here…I swear, blue love, blue love, I’m sleeping…”

He crumpled then and then his head lifted and looked up. “I’m sorry,” Tensa said. “I tried to keep him under, but we’re still fighting whatever drug he gave us.”

Grimmjow led him to the bed, where the nurses finished preparing him to leave. There was some more minor chatter and then they were moving, heading away toward the new safehouse, having been set up with the equipment necessary and everything they needed. They arrived with no incident, and a twenty-four-hour guard would be present inside the room, with Grimmjow and Nel taking twelve-hour shifts. The suicide threat was taken quite seriously and the room was set up much like a psych room would be.

With Illfordt in protective custody and able to verify the account of the second assault as well as everything on the case against Aizen, the prosecution was moving forward quickly. Even with the insanity of the victim, it was working. It was truly working, and for the first time, they had something to pin on Aizen. Videos were evidence, and this time, Aizen had made a mistake in his haste. He’d used his own face.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Uryū!” Shinobu yelled as soon as Uryū got into the room at the safe house. They hugged for a long time before Uryū finally let him go.

“I’m sorry it took so long to get back to you,” Uryū said with a soft smirk. “I’m sure we’ll make up for it.”

“How long do we have to stay here?” Shinobu asked with a deep frown. “Now that you’re safe, why do we need to stay here?”

“The guy that had me kidnapped is dead, but there’s some other members of his crew that might be dangerous, so they want us to stay here until the other man has been captured. I guess he was a plant inside the Shinigami.”

Uryū was just happy to be free from the confines of the small room he’d been in, and he was glad to hear that the others were now safe as well.


	10. Reunification of the soul

 

Then, the news hit that no one was ready for. Aizen had been captured, alive. Captain Gin Ichimaru had been undercover as his man for the last few years. When Aizen had left, things happened quickly and Gin made a move. Gin ended up with a gunshot wound to the shoulder for his efforts, but he’d captured Aizen alive, and that was what truly mattered.

Shinobu and Uryū were also instilled in the same safe house as Ichigo along with several of the others from Tia Hallibel’s group. During that time, Shinobu had become quite close to Wonderweiss.

The Kurosaki family found life to be curiously quiet once their missing member was safely away in an unknown location. Their life went on like any normal life, but there was a huge gaping hole in it. And it yearned to be filled, but until their son and brother returned, there was nothing to be done. And the broken boy was far from put back together.

Grimmjow and Renji sat in the cafeteria. Rukia and Byakuya were up talking to one of Ichigo’s selves and they were enjoying the peace together for the first time in a week of sitting for the young man in alterative shifts.

“So, you managed to come to terms with the fact you fell in love with him yet?” Renji asked suddenly.

Grimmjow choked on his food. “What?”

Renji grinned. “You’re head over heels in love with him, idiot.”

“I am not,” he said. “He’s my case, that’s all.”

“That’s not all.”

“Yes, it is, leave it Renji,” he said, standing and leaving the red head shaking his head at him.

A week later, they were again having lunch and Renji looked morose. “What’s going on?”

“I’m just bored of this gig. I want to be out in the open again, sunshine on my face!” he announced.

Grimmjow frowned. “Sunshine. That thing Ichigo says, rainfall sunshine. We never have been able to figure it out for sure. I still wonder about it and if we’re right.”

Renji rolled his eyes at his thick-headed friend. He reached up and tugged at his hair painfully. “Hey!” he exclaimed batting his hand away.

“Rainfall, dumbass,” Renji said with an eye roll.

“What?” he asked, running a hand over his hair.

“Think about it! Or rather don’t think so hard. Rainfall. Blue water, blue…like your hair, stupid. Sunshine, orange…like his hair. I am about ninety nine percent sure that Ichigo wants you to be together. In his cracked mind, it comes out Rainfall Sunshine. That’s why he mutters about blue and orange all the time in his sleep. For some reason that amazingly smart mind of his works that way,” Renji said, shoving a fork load of potatoes in his mouth.

Grimmjow sat stunned for a moment. Could it really be that simple?

Another week passed of the same routine and Renji and Grimmjow met for their lunch again. “You may be right,” he admitted. “He was muttering in his sleep again last night about the blue rain, and the orange sun. I mean, nothing else really makes sense, does it?”

Renji nodded. “It would seem so, big blue.”

“But…so he’s felt that connection from the beginning?”

“You did save his life, you know. You’re the one that rescued him. That’s where the blue comes from. I bet in that dark room the only color he could see was the bright ass hair of yours. He connected blue with his salvation. And I think rainfall because he’s sad. But he wants to be happy, hence the sunshine bit,” he said shrugging.

Grimmjow arched a brow. “When did you get so philosophical?”

Renji snorted. “Zangetsu and I have been spending a lot of time together…” he answered with a grin. “I like the guy. I like all three, but then, they’re all the same person anyway, so it doesn’t matter, does it?”

Grimmjow stopped. He’d been thinking of them as different, distinct individuals. But that wasn’t them at all. They were all Ichigo. Parts of the same whole. They were simply splinters of Ichigo made more vivid by their separation.

“Yeah, you’re right. No reason to change anything once he becomes one person again. He’ll have all their memories, and they are him…”

Another week passed and this time Renji was tired of messing with his blue haired friend. Every day, or night, he sat and mooned over the orange haired man. He’d stroke his hands; pet his hair from his face when he thought others weren’t watching that knew him. He cared deeply for him. He’d talk kindly to all three personalities, and when he thought no one at all was looking, he could see the shine of unshed tears when he looked at his sleeping form tied down with the restraints.

Nope, Renji had enough. Grimmjow swaggered in and sat down with his food and sighed deeply.

“Dammit, man, tell him that you love him,” Renji said.

“What?” he asked.

“You fucking moron. You love the boy. Just tell him, even if you tell him when he goes to sleep, I don’t care. You worry constantly over him, you pet him and coo at him, you read to him, you put up with Shiro’s shit like no one else, you love him. Now, grow some balls, man,” Renji said, standing and striding off.

Grimmjow sat dumbfounded for a moment and then swallowed, and it seemed, along with the lump in his throat he swallowed his pride. Yeah, he did love him. From the moment he found him in that alley, he knew there was something more than police and victim, more than detective and case. No, so much more, a deep and living connection that he was remiss in seeing. He finished his lunch and found Ichigo napping. Renji was in the toilet. He leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to the young man’s forehead and then whispered in his ear.

“Ichigo, I love you, and I want you to come home to me,” he said softly and stood to go to his own rest until later that night.

Grimmjow was exhausted later that night when he returned. He read books and watched him sleep, like usual. This week had been hard. It had been a month now, and they found out earlier that Aizen was going to trial. The evidence was damning, and try as he might, his lawyers had found no way out of the situation for the man. They were still in the safe house, though. It was just too risky to move otherwise. There had been rumors about hits out on Grimmjow and Ichigo as well as Renji and Nel.

Tonight, he was almost dozing off when he heard a groan. He was up in an instant and in the seat next to the bed. They were still under suicide watch regulations, and he slept in wrist and ankle restraints at the insistence of Zangetsu and Tensa, for fear that Ichigo would take over when they slept. He pulled on the wrist restraint and gasped, his eyes flying wide and Grimmjow knew it wasn’t one of the others.

“Grimm?” he asked, looking up with eyes brimming with tears.

“Ichigo, hello there, long time no see,” he said softly, folding a hand into the restrained one.

“What…where…” he muttered, looking around.

“We’re in a safe house for now. And you’re restrained to keep you from hurting yourself,” he said softly.

Ichigo nodded. “I’m…I’m…I can’t go away…” he whispered urgently. “They…they’re gone…”

“Shiro, Tensa and Zangetsu are gone?” Grimmjow said softly.

“I’m scared…” he said, his breath quickening. “Wh-what do I do without them…”

Grimmjow smiled softly. “You don’t need them anymore, that’s why they’re gone.”

“They left me,” he said, eyes wide.

Grimmjow shook his head. “They didn’t leave you. They’re right here,” he said, poking him in the chest.

“I don’t…I don’t understand…” he said his voice broken and pleading.

“Ichigo, they were just pieces of you. They returned, and now you’re whole again,” he said, gripping the hand tightly.

His eyes went wide. “I don’t want to be whole! I remember…” he said, looking horrified. “I remember what they did to me…how they touched me, and hurt me…and I can’t…I can’t…”

“You can,” Grimmjow said firmly.

“How do you know?” he asked, frantic. “You don’t really know me, I was broken already when we met…”

“Because I knew Zangetsu. And I knew Tensa. And I knew Shiro. And they were you. Everything about them is inside you. Zangetsu’s haughty ideas, and philosophy, Tensa’s no nonsense attitude and love of learning and reading, Shiro’s fighting ability, and passion and drive. Those things are all still there, Ichigo, because no matter what you think, they came from you, and they’ve gone back to you,” Grimmjow said, reaching up and putting a hand on the pale cheek.

His skin was nearly translucent from being indoors and under these artificial lights. All trace of the once golden tan he had was gone. His orange hair was lank and laid around his face in a longish flop. The blue pajamas were bright in the dim light. Grimmjow smiled and unbuckled his ankles, then each of his hands and then took both of those thin hands and pulled him to stand up.

“Come with me,” he said softly, and led him carefully out of the room, past the inside guard and the outside guard. Down the hall and to the right, second door to the left. He opened it and they entered a beautiful twilight garden.

Ichigo blinked and looked around. “Night blooming flowers, all of them,” Grimmjow explained. “They only open when the sun goes away. Sometimes when it’s raining, too.”

He held tight to the younger man’s hand and led him down the trails, naming all the flowers with the accuracy of a true botanist. He explained to him all about where they were from, how often they bloomed and how long they lived. Finally, they ended in a circular area with a bench overlooking a koi pond with underwater lighting that gave it an eerie glow in the moonlight. They sat for a long time watching the fish. It was well after four am and Grimmjow smiled and turned to him.

“Ichigo, I have to tell you something,” he said, and the man with the hollow eyes turned and looked at him. “I fell in love with Zangetsu. And Tensa. And Shiro. And you. That means, Ichigo, I have totally and completely fallen in love with every bit of you. I’ve never been so scared as when you were taken from right under me. Twice. And I was so useless. And my heart beat a steady rhythm of pain while we searched for you. And I never want anyone else in my life.”

Ichigo swallowed thickly and started to cry immediately. Grimmjow pulled him close and held on tightly. “I told you I loved you earlier, and tonight you woke up with them a part of you again. I think…I think they were waiting for me to come to my goddamned senses. I’ve loved you since the day I looked into your eyes, when I found you and you stole my heart.”

The tears didn’t stop, but he didn’t care. He rocked him back and forth. “I will love you forever.”

“How?” he whispered brokenly and it made Grimmjow’s heart stutter and nearly stop.

“How? Just like this.”

“But…but…I don’t know that I can…ever…be ready to be with you. Like you would want…I can’t even think of…of being with a person…without feeling their hands all over me and I’m sick about it…how could I be anything to you if I can’t even be touched?” he gasped, grabbing hold even tighter to the firm body beside him.

“It doesn’t matter. Love is love, sex isn’t love. I want you to understand that. I would love to show you what true love feels like, and one day, when you’re ready, show you what it feels like to make love with someone you cherish more than your own life. Because that’s you for me. And it took me a long time to figure it out.” He reached out and tipped his chin up to look into his eyes. “I want that emptiness to go away, and I want to see the spark, and believe me, I saw it in Shiro’s eyes, so I know you have it.”

Ichigo blinked. Could this be real? He hadn’t thought it could be. He closed his eyes and allowed the cascading memories to wash over him, taking over his mind, heart, and soul and he held tightly to the man before him. He was older, maybe too much older, but it didn’t matter. He could help him, he didn’t care about what they’d done to him, how dirty they’d made him, he didn’t care. He was the first thing he thought of and the last as well, and no matter how he looked at it he always wanted to be with him. It was crazy, stupid and all sorts of things but he wanted this.

 _Of course ya do, Ichi-baby_ , came a voice in his mind. _You love him. I always did what you desired, at the heart of it all. When I propositioned him, when I told him those dirty things, that was your hidden and burning desires coming out and being thrust full force at the person you wanted more than anything_.

 _And I want nothing more than to be happy,_ came Tensa’s voice. _I know the reality of our pain, Ichigo. I know the harsh facts that this will be hard. Every day will be hard. But it is so much harder without someone there that you can love and who will love you through all the tears and all the fear and will cuddle you through a nightmare._

 _And you have to let him. More than anything, let him in, let him help us. We’re together now, one whole, but there are so many cracks yet to be filled…and his love and affection are what will fill them_ , Zangetsu advised him.

He smiled through his tears and nodded. “The rainfall…” he whispered, reaching up and running hands through his beautiful blue hair and then touching the tears at the corners of his eyes. “I saw you cry, and I saw this, and it was beautiful and heartbreaking like the rainfall at night. And I just wanted sunshine,” he said softly, touching his own hair. “Isn’t that stupid that that’s the best my messed-up mind could come up with?”

Grimmjow smiled and held him all the tighter. “Not at all, I think rainfall sunshine is quite beautiful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've come to the end of the rewrite, and I hope you've enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> Autism Self-Advocacy Network  
> • info@autisticadvocacy.org  
> • http://autisticadvocacy.org/  
> National Alliance on Mental Health  
> • 1-800-950-6264  
> • http://www.nami.org/  
> Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance  
> • 1-800-826-3632  
> • http://www.dbsalliance.org/  
> Transgender Youth Equality Foundation  
> • 207-478-4087  
> • http://www.transyouthequality.org/  
> Trans Student Educational Resources  
> • TSER@transstudent.org  
> • http://www.transstudent.org/  
> Stopbullying.gov  
> • https://www.stopbullying.gov/  
> PACERS National Bullying Prevention Center  
> • 1-800-537-2237  
> • http://www.pacer.org/bullying/  
> Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration  
> • 1-877-SAMHSA-7  
> • https://www.samhsa.gov/  
> National Suicide Prevention Hotline  
> • 1-800-273-8255  
> • https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/  
> Suicide Prevention Resources  
> • http://www.sprc.org/  
> American Foundation of Suicide Prevention  
> • https://www.afsp.org/  
> The American Association of Suicidology  
> • http://www.suicidology.org/  
> Crisis Text Line  
> • Text "Start" 741-741  
> • http://www.crisistextline.org/  
> S.A.F.E. Alternatives  
> • 1-800-DONTCUT  
> • http://www.selfinjury.com/  
> Trans Lifeline  
> • US: 1-877-565-8860 Canada: 1-877-330-6366  
> • https://www.translifeline.org/  
> GLBT National Youth Talk  
> • 1-800-246-7743 (M-F, 4pm-12am EST/Sat, 12pm-5pm EST)  
> The Trevor Project  
> • 1-866-488-7386 (24/7)  
> • Text “Trevor” 1-202-304-1200 (F 4pm - 8pm EST)  
> • http://www.thetrevorproject.org/  
> Disaster Distress Helpline  
> • 1-800-985-5990  
> • Text "TalkWithUs" 66746  
> National Sexual Violence Resource Center  
> • 1-877-739-3895  
> • http://www.nsvrc.org/  
> RAINN- Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network  
> • 1-800-656-4673  
> • https://www.rainn.org/  
> National Sexual Assault Hotline  
> • 1-800-656-4673  
> The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence  
> • 303-839-1852  
> • http://www.ncadv.org/  
> The National Domestic Violence Hotline  
> • 1-800-799-SAFE  
> • http://www.thehotline.org/  
> The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence  
> • 1-800-537-2238  
> • http://www.nrcdv.org/  
> Warm Ear Line  
> • 1-866-WARM EAR (927-6327)  
> • http://warmline.org/  
> National Human Trafficking Resource Center  
> • 1-888-373-7888  
> • Text BeFree (233733)  
> National Runaway Safeline  
> • 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) (24/7)  
> • http://www.1800runaway.org/  
> USA National Child Abuse Hotline  
> • 1-800-422-4453 (24/7)  
> National Safe Place  
> • Text SAFE and your current location to the number 69866 (24/7)  
> • http://nationalsafeplace.org/  
> National Eating Disorders Association  
> • 800-931-2237 (M-F, 11:30 am-7:30 pm EST)  
> • http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/  
> ANAD: National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders  
> • 630-577-1330 (M-F,12 pm-8 pm EST)  
> • http://www.anad.org/


End file.
